City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

SpiderTeo_OC

Legend

  • Posts

    226

  • Joined

  1. SpiderTeo_OC

    Assault

    POST-ACTION

    When I19 went live, I remade my MA/Regen with a build that used the Leadership pool (Maneuvers and Assault) to replace what was then the Fitness pool. Being a /Regen, I did have some END to burn, so I got the two toggles as well as Conserve Power for those long fights.

    It is a small buff for just being solo, but very small bit does add up. Provided you experience no endurance problems, then I don't see it as a bad choice for a power pick (though that doesn't mean there are other better choices for any particular build).
  2. SpiderTeo_OC
    As long as you are comfortable with the recharge on your powers, then I say go with Musculature.

    The Spiritual boost is great for your attack chain and some of your AoE attacks, but also works well on other powers like AM, which I know most people want to have spammed ASAP. Your call if you really need/want the extra recharge. However, the uncommons in that tree are stunning and healing, both of which are not too common in your power sets. Also, you will probably hit the ED cap more on the damage of your powers rather than recharge, so you'll get more face value out of the Spiritual boost.

    Musculature uncommons have immob and Defense debuff enhancing. The /Rad part could make use of the defense debuffing in one or two powers, all the while also buffing your damage just a little (provided your damaging attacks are slotted for damaged up to or close to the ED cap). It might not be much, but since you are going Fire/Rad, it 's all about doing as much damage as possible.
  3. SpiderTeo_OC
    I use the Spiritual Radial Boost on my MA/Regen, and both enhanced aspects work very well on my toon. As said before, getting more recharge on a /regen toon is always great. Even if you do hit ED on some of your powers' recharge times, every little bit helps particularly on long recharge powers like IH, MoG, and DP, not to mention other powers like Hasten, Conserve Power, attacks, etc.

    The healing aspect will have a marginal effect on your total build provided you did your best to max out the healing aspects of your powers. Since slots tend to run out on the most pimped out builds, the Spiritual radial boost could probably have a greater impact on some of the lesser regen powers like Fast Healing and Health, under the assumption that the one or two slots in those powers would probably have a unique IO proc (like the Miracle's, or Numina's). You'd get a few more HP/sec to your regen outside of IH.

    And depending on build, IH might not be maxed out on healing, but rather on recharge, so the Spiritual Radial Boost could have a greater impact on that power too.
  4. SpiderTeo_OC
    I went with a Cardiac (and eventually Radial) Boost on my Fire/Cold. With the I19 respec, I ended up able to get a few more toggles than before (Leadership pool). Unfortunately, that put more of a end drain on the toon. Getting the Cardiac boost was a perfect way to solve the problem of taking advantage of the new respec'ed powers.

    I could have gone Spiritual, and try to get as close to perma-Heat Loss as possible, but I knew that wouldn't always be a reliable solution to my END management problems.
  5. SpiderTeo_OC
    I think that is still the top chain, provided you got the recharge for it (and provided I missed any new patch notes and changes).
  6. SpiderTeo_OC

    Best Boss Killer?

    POST-ACTION

    I'll throw in my opinion on the matter as well since everyone else is having fun on this.

    I will agree with everyone else how some sets can have higher damage than others. I favor Martial Arts, just because I am bias for the set myself. Still, when comparing certain builds, and more "elite" IO'ed builds with high recharge and defense bonuses, then MA does fall behind a bit compared to some of the FoTM combo sets like DM/Shields or Fire/Shields.

    Now, if you are going to be hitting PuGs and generally "average" working teammates, then there are other things to consider rather than just more damage output (On a side note, when teaming with a very efficient team with various buffs/debuffs and controls, then yeah, damage is really the only thing you need to worry about bringing to the team).

    At the lower to mid- levels, damage is really all you need to take out bosses, with a few excepts like some CoT. As you get to higher levels, then some of the Bosses start to actually get challenging for "standard" build and even pimped out builds. Sometimes, more damage is just not enough because Bosses got enough HP to avoid getting taken down with a one- or two- shot hit (barring no Kins are on the team or something similar). Then having something else besides more damage would actually be helpful in survivability, particularly if you are dead set on /Regen as your secondary.

    Having /Regen means no native defenses so you will more than likely get hit with whatever is being thrown at you, compared to other sets like Willpower or Shields. Having a primary to help compensate for that lack of defenses will be very noticeable.

    The sword sets (BS, Kat) do have a lethal/melee defense buff, which will work with some enemies, but not all of the dangerous Bosses. It also has some KU/KD to keep mobs off their toes. These sets also have -def debuffs in some of their attacks, which will make some targets even easier to hit if you need it.

    Fiery Melee's tactic is to just hope that the Boss dies before you do (even when debuffed).

    Dark Melee does have some nice utilitarian powers to keep you standing and attacking as well as having good single target damage (though I don't know what kind of recharge you need for that).

    I like Martial Arts, particularly since the new I18 changes, because I can still put out damage but also have a bit more soft control and a -def debuff as well. At low to mid-recharge levels, Martial Arts does give out very respectable damage, even over some of the other sets (I think this was shown in one of old lists comparing DPS among the primaries a while back). I don't know if you are planning more of a "standard" SO build or going for the totally pimped out IO'ed builds common on these boards, but MA does seem to lag behind some of the other sets as +recharge gets higher in a build.

    But the reason I like MA is because it can now even perma-stun Bosses, and maybe even EBs, with just a little more than your basic slotting. This might not make much of a difference for most well-played teams, but solo and on "weaker" teams, it really helps to keep those pesky Bosses under controlled. Here are some examples that I thought of.

    Carnival Shadow's Ring Mistresses-
    If you are going /Regen, expect to get hit with their special "Mask" debuff, which will suck your down your regen and recovery, which can %$#@! up any toon that gets hit with it. If you have stacked Quick Recovery and Stamina, you could survive one hit from these debuffs, though the Ring Mistresses tend to stack them on top of each other if you are not careful. BS's parry or Kat's Divine Avalanche won't work against this attack, though DM might have a few tools to compensate for getting hit. MA's tactic is to perma- stun the Ring Mistress before you get perma-debuffs by them. I used to do that before I18, but now it's easier to do as well as keeping the damage on.

    Crey Paragon Protectors
    If you don't kill these guys fast or hold them down, then they will hit their Tier 9 power and then make you wait for what seems like an eternity to let it wear off. If you can perma-stun them at the right time, you can kill them off the bat rather than let them run around with their hacked MoG.

    Nemesis' Fake Nemesis
    This also goes with the PPs. After a time they will use their Personal Force Field and make them impossible to hit. If you can perma-stun them, then they won't have a chance to throw up their shields.

    Of course, on a decent team, you wouldn't always have to worry about stunning and containing Bosses, since your teammates should be taking care o that while you bring the pain to your enemies.
  7. SpiderTeo_OC
    A MA/Regen can easily solo all "standard content." But it will need some help with some of the more challenging elements like AV soloing, you will only be able to take on some of those challenges.

    MA's strength is taking down single hard targets, like Bosses, EBs, and in some cases, AVs. Multiple groups of mobs will make it harder for a MA to taken them all down even when spamming Dragon's Tail. Regen itself takes a hit from large groups as well, particularly when the debuffs come in. Regen has no native protection from or resistance to debuffs, so you are more likely to get hit with a debuff than most other sets. Also, MA is smashing damage, which might be slightly less resisted than lethal damage overall in the game, against enemies like AVs, you won't be able to damage them significantly without external buffs. I tried this on Marauder a few times, and even with an Envenomed Dagger and a Shivan/Heavy Core, and his smashing resist were too high to overcome his AV regen. Sword sets can usually overcome lethal-resistance AVs by using the Achilles' Heel Proc of something in its secondary.

    That said, a MA/Regen can still do some impressive things, like accomplishing the RWZ Challenge, soloing Rikti Pylons, and soloing (non smashing-resistance) AVs.
  8. SpiderTeo_OC

    MA/SR build

    POST-ACTION

    Slot Cobra Strike for damage rather than Stun. Because its mag3 Stun is now 75%, it's not a guarantee that the effect will go off, and the slotting for Stun would effectively be wasted. It's better to just slot for +recharge to allow for perma-stunning.

    Cobra Strike can now be one of your top three/four attacks, meaning it can replace Crane Kick if you are not down with its KB.
  9. SpiderTeo_OC
    I have currently building a Dual Pistols/Traps Praetorian to initially duo with a Dominator. I haven't seen any guides for Dual Pistols, and the guides for Traps didn't seem to be too comprehensive for what I was looking.

    Right now, the proposed build is soft-capped to Ranged, Aoe, and Energy/Neg, with significant defense elsewhere. I'm not sure if this is the way to go, if I'm treating the powers appropriately, or if there are other. better, options to consider. Below is the potential build. Any criticisms are welcome, as well as any general wisdom about both sets. Thanks in advance.




    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.803
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Level 50 Technology Corruptor
    Primary Power Set: Dual Pistols
    Secondary Power Set: Traps
    Power Pool: Flight
    Power Pool: Fitness
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leadership

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Dual Wield -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
    Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 2: Empty Clips -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(5), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(9), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(15), Achilles-ResDeb%(42)
    Level 4: Caltrops -- RechRdx-I(A)
    Level 6: Fly -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(7), Zephyr-ResKB(7)
    Level 8: Swap Ammo
    Level 10: Bullet Rain -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(11), Posi-Dmg/Rng(17), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Posi-Dam%(42)
    Level 12: Hover -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(13), Zephyr-ResKB(13), LkGmblr-Rchg+(46)
    Level 14: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
    Level 16: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
    Level 18: Executioner's Shot -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(19), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), Achilles-ResDeb%(40)
    Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), EndMod-I(21)
    Level 22: Force Field Generator -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(23), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(23)
    Level 24: Acid Mortar -- Achilles-ResDeb%(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(25), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(25), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
    Level 26: Piercing Rounds -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(27), Posi-Dmg/Rng(34), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), Posi-Dam%(40)
    Level 28: Poison Trap -- BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(A), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(29), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(29)
    Level 30: Seeker Drones -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(31), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(31), DarkWD-Slow%(31)
    Level 32: Hail of Bullets -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(33), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Erad-%Dam(40)
    Level 35: Trip Mine -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(36), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Erad-%Dam(43)
    Level 38: Time Bomb -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(39), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(39), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(43), Erad-%Dam(43)
    Level 41: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 44: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), ImpArm-ResDam(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), ImpArm-EndRdx/Rchg(46)
    Level 47: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(48), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
    Level 49: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Scourge
    Level 2: Ninja Run



    Code: 
    | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|MxDz;1412;703;1406;HEX;|
|78DA9D544B4F135114BED387A5B4A52DA50205E4D1D2160A03EC7C2C4C044D3090A|
|062346A6C2630B493349DA6538CECFC01AEDCB8C2D75E8D2F20B2F247A889FA0714|
|75AF51C773CF776935EE9CA4DF3773EEF9CE77E6DC3B5DBC3E1716E2C671A145672|
|B86E31467ED7A7DBDD6B0EBEDCBE64AB96A57ECD286080821069A2BC5B346B564AE|
|EA73EB46A5B864390DBBE274B5564FACAFADE9CB75A3E6C4E7AB65B36E561BFAFE4|
|D68C9B62BFAA98A552A37C2B8B71A55D37122EA81E256B514E5A705D35835EB4ED9|
|AA0D9DAC592B7ACB62C1BC66198DB2512D2E1A4EC3AC6FF4508363F4CBC684BA5CB|
|FD8241A119E3B4CBEBB4C6DF7983AEE338D3D60FAA6355542A43894A3429A2AA43D|
|244A08CF23147A8C424F50E8290ABDF2C894EF24F1AA42DE02AF8468767E843CFE7|
|71E193AF01EF481294F4E01B672DD31BA0F2AD7E033D6B73F07BD608A6D81B6E1BA|
|C314248B102A7843B008C3220C8BC9A426C94F7911E489489AA5010A4555287A9AB|
|30AD4435CF510C7083B31C24E8C701823CC608439BC791B154AA09027719B5DBB6E|
|818638EF272D26554212FD1CEC02C5987E1076C3D7DB8DA23DB0EF81EF247C27A8B|
|F5ED55F2F6694C28C5298D1306694C18C7298D12FAADEA7B6A1EF0D551F10FD6F41|
|AF995C4D22EC07B6B8F343DBA01DD02E6649F683CA7EF0234B873E81F6409F9986B|
|F30E5BE3209D6423502551AAA345469A832508D43A5118E2AD5285459A8B25065A1|
|1AFF5B455B915787308FD3ECA55001C3F715BAF94D27F23CF5890C28C7349965F25|
|1BAAE0E948EBD9AC25E4D61AFA6124C71CA9B5679D3C89B41DE0CF26690D7EFFBE3|
|FB72E9120BFF44967CCD0F4E681C996FE5B8C1D6E7F8BFD7CBF07EB9E09976C2731|
|2CE4BB820E1A2844B122E4BB822E1AA84A20477B7A98E1E967D1D917054C2310949|
|F9BF7353660642042109610911091D12A2126212121252123625B8BF01F5060B24|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
  10. SpiderTeo_OC
    I have a Rad/Rad Defender that is currently build out for making use of Choking Cloud and Devastation Chance to Hold procs in a couple of the attacks to occasionally get mobs held, sometimes even Bosses. Though it is not complete right now, I almost exclusively team with him now so this seems to have little return for this kind of slotting.

    I had a second potential build that would replace the Devastation procs for Achilles' Heel -Res procs and get rid of Choking Cloud, upping the damage potential, but solo and in teams. Almost everything else is the same. Would this be a better direction to take this toon?

    Also, I also plan to get the Power Mastery epic pool, and I was wondering which was a better power to get, Aim from the Rad Blast, or Power Build Up Power Mastery. Aim has less of a damage buff but recharges more often, while Power Build Up does have a better damage buff. Any comments?
  11. SpiderTeo_OC
    I was thinking of starting a new toon, using the Dual Pistols set, but I wasn't sure if I should go Blaster of Corruptor.

    I know that Blasters get a higher damage scalar, plus Defiance, the toon can give itself some minor self buffs in a fight. Also, most secondaries has Build Up for greater burst damage.

    Corruptors, however, do have Scourge, which really comes into play when you well have the advantage in a fight. But it also has access to some secondaries like Pain Dom and Kinetics.

    I will most likely use this toon to duo with a Dominator in Praetoria initially. I'm thinking I want something to have better damage potential, though survivability is also a good idea to consider. Any thoughts?
  12. SpiderTeo_OC
    Katana has MA beat on AoE.

    And even though Cobra striek a great power to take early and to keep on all the way to 50, its stun is nothing compared to Divine Avalanche's defense buff. I mean, +15% to defense is a nice fatty chunk of mitigation there. Even though I have been able to stun even AVs with the new Cobra Strike, its duration is not long enough to really make a difference.

    The Sword sets really don't need any more tweaks. With a decent number of AoEs, -def debuffs, and a couple KU/KD effects, plus good damage and a def buff, it's no question why they are so popular and effective.
  13. SpiderTeo_OC
    Martial Arts is a good set to work with, particularly with the recent changes. It can start off with a decent attack chain fairly early, and then be respecced into a better chain as early as by level 18 or later.

    Comparing it to Claws, it will hit harder per attack, and will seem slower in terms of recharge time. Also, it will definitely be more endurance heavy if you like to attack constantly. It also lacks a significant number of AoE attack, so you got to change up your play style on that. It works better on taking out tough single targets, like bosses and Elite Bosses, than on a whole mess of minions or even lieutenants.

    As for secondaries, almost any will work with MA. Regen seems to work well on smaller, but tougher mobs, while WP is great for tacking on a whole mess of enemies. Keep that in mind that MA only has one AoE attack, so "herding" sets like Willpower and Invulnerability will have to be played differently than other sets. SR is a late blooming set, but can be extremely survivable in later levels. Using MA's soft controls at the lower and mid levels will help you survive as you are slotting out your defenses. The same can be said about Shields as well, which seems to be the top secondary if you can get it soft-capped, because of it damage-enhancing capabilities and extra AoE attack.
  14. SpiderTeo_OC
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
    Those *are*, if I remember correctly, magnitude debuffs (with fixed duration). Because the devs seem to be rewriting some of the critter balance rules for Praetorians, it will be interesting to see how all of that plays out, and not just for -regen debuffs specifically.
    So wait, you mean those debuffs are working on a different mechanic that most of us are usually familiar with? How are magnitude debuffs different from kinds of debuffs?
  15. SpiderTeo_OC
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
    The reason -regen has such high magnitude is probably because its not balanced based around magnitude but on duration. And the reason for that is probably for the same reason the devs got into so much trouble trying to balance movement debuffs: the game engine only supports linear debuffs and not proportional ones (at least, most of the time). So a -X movement debuff stops most players dead, but a player with superspeed doesn't even notice because his movement buff is so high that the debuff is small by comparison. Similarly, most players have low numerical regeneration, but some things have ultra high levels of it (on a relative basis). Trying to balance a linear debuff against the levels of regeneration out there would be extremely difficult.

    Instead, the debuffs often simply zap the player's regen tick rate to basically zero for X seconds. In effect this removes a certain window of health recovery with each debuff which is proportional to the intrinsic rate of regeneration. Its an attempt at a proportional debuff the long way around. This would probably be too harsh if there existed powersets that relied almost exclusively on regeneration, but there are no such sets. Just like if SR, FF, and Ice didn't exist as powersets, cascade failure would be just an odd trivia observation rather than a game-balance significant phenomenon.

    Its really this aspect of regen debuffs that make the notion of regeneration debuff resistance an indirectly futile pursuit. The debuffs are often intended to be balanced around a presumption of debuffing to zero, so the magnitude is set high enough to ensure this. Adding regen debuff resistance to any powerset would be virtually meaningless. The question to ask isn't whether players should resist them partially, because there's basically no such thing as partially resisting something intended to always drop you to zero. The question is whether there are too many of them or they last too long. Those are the only two dimensions of the problem that feedback could likely change. And of the two, I think the stronger argument can be made against the duration of the debuffs, not their frequency.
    This seems to be changed a bit now with the new Praetorian Clockworks, whose attacks do have some -regen debuffs in them, but won't necessarily floor a /Regen scrapper's regen rate. I noticed on a lowbie MA/Shields scrapper that my regen was repeatedly getting zeroed out against these things, though the minor defenses at the time was enough to provide some mitigation. Then I run into some of these Praetorian Clockwork on my IO'ed out level 50 MA/Regen. I did notice that my regen rate did drop a few times below standard Integration levels, which made it uncomfortable during that time before I would hit Instant Healing. Once IH was up, those -regen debuffs didn't matter so much as the actual damage coming in, but when IH is down, those smaller -regen debuffs can hamstring a Regen scrapper without actually flooring its regen.

    These new attacks seem to be how -regen can be used within the game without having to always resort to the -1000% debuff that will shut down anything. Now whether this might be a glimpse of later enemy design or just something that has popped up coincidentally, I'm not sure, but it seems that there is some deliberate thought on introducing more -regen attacks against players, which might then impact on powerset design.
  16. SpiderTeo_OC
    While I've been doing some work on the new Martial Arts changes at the end-game, I have also been looking into the effects of debuffs on /Regen.

    So far, most of the -regen debuffs encountered will floor a scrapper's regen to nil, even through Instant Healing. They don't happen too often, but it's often enough that if you don't have any other layers of mitigation, then you could be in trouble. I've seen them from Malta's Titan bots, CoT Death Mages, and Carnie Bosses. The new Praetorian Clockwork also have -regen debuffs in their attacks. Individually, they are not too much trouble, but on a +0/x4 L.50 Tip Mission, the number of attacks did make a recognizable impact on my regen rate. At lower levels, this could be more significant, and for non-IOed builds that don't have other layers of mitigation, it could be a problem.

    I've also noticed that any debuff, -regen or otherwise, seems to be felt more dramatically on a /Regen than other sets. Defense debuffs are going to be felt, and can easily lead to cascading failure, shredding any defense a Regen did manage to get. -Recharge debuffs mostly messed with my offense, but it would have stalled my regen clicks just as bad if I hadn't built for high recharge. Regen debuffs will instantly squishify a regen scrapper if no other mitigation was built for.

    To say that Regeneration needs debuff resistance might be more or less a matter of perspective, and depends on what is considered the baseline standard. I do think that even with SOs, a Regen can still get through most of the "standard" content with no problems, however the lack of debuff resistance plateaus Regen's top performance sooner compared to other sets. However, I can't say if that necessitates a need for debuff resistance for Regen.
  17. SpiderTeo_OC
    I can't say it much for the stalker side, but Ma on scrapper is much better than it was before. Is it the uber best ST primary set? Eh, it depends on circumstances.

    For low- to mid- levels of global recharge, it seems to be pretty good up there. Its highest attack chain is only really possible with a very high recharge, though, something that can only come from a pimped out IO build or massive external buffs. I got my high-recharge MA/Regen in a few mission at 50, and the damage with the now-possible soft-control of the set is doing pretty good. So far, I did a Pylon test and a AV test. I did take out the Rikti Pylon in less than 11 minutes (about 186 dps). I took him against Marauder, but I couldn't even put a decent dent in his health bar (though surprisingly, I was able to even stun him a few times when his purple triangles were down). I am going to try another AV without so much Smashing resists and see how the new MA changes go from there.

    I am also leveling up a new MA/Shields, and see how AAO would affect its damage output, considering that its global recharge will be considerably lower than my /Regen's. If I can meet or beat the same damage expectations on my MA/Shields as I can on my MA/Regens, then it's probably an AAO-fueled toon that makes all those other primaries as good as they are, rather than just something that MA was lacking before.

    Even with these new adjustments, I don't see any major changes to MA's performance in the damage department. Under normal/standard conditions, Martial Arts' performance against other sets in damage was very understated, even though it matched up pretty well for single target DPS. The Cobra Strike change simply gave the set more flexibility in power choices and the ability to perma-stun bosses without sacrificing damage. The +% crit chance post-Eagle's claw and ~+17% dam buff to Crippling Ax Kick will up its numbers, but I doubt it will create a big leap in DPS.

    In the high-end game of extreme IO builds and super-uber difficult challenges, I do think that Martial Arts is a pretty good set that was underrated. However, now it has a bit of its own niche apart. Whether that is enough to make the set match up with all the rest will depending on how the set performs in the coming weeks and months after these changes.
  18. SpiderTeo_OC

    MA/Regen Build

    POST-ACTION

    It's not a bad build, but there are some key things that you should be aware of.
    • Storm Kick is your bread and butter attack, so you should put the Hecatombs into Storm Kick rather than Eagle's Claw. With the current build, it won't get you at the top DPS chain, but it will be very close (an external buff would make you reach it).
    • I don't know why you Miracles into Integration. The heal set bonus is lost because it won't effect Recon (due to its inherent toxic resist that interferes with Heal set bonuses). You might as well slot in Numina's, as even the +regen and +HP bonuses would still be better.
    • Slot Obliterations into Dragon's Tail. You get an extra +5% global recharge from it. And you still have enough defenses to hit the soft-cap with Shadow Meld.
    • Don't bother slotting MoG for Defense; keep the LotG +Recharge and slot in Recharge IO's into the rest.
  19. SpiderTeo_OC
    Regen is still a great set to use for most of the normal content around here. And it stacks up there with Willpower as well. It takes more skill to use most effectively, but the payoff is usually higher survivability. And I say usually...

    Once we start going into situations beyond "standard," then you start to see some big differences in particular situations. Debuffs will kill a Regen harder and faster than they would kill a Willpower. -Recharge won't instantly kill a Regen, but it does put a "doom" meter about its head as your clicks get slowly further away than you expected. -Regen in itself won't instantly kill a regen, but it could drop a regen faster because then you only got a "15 sec" escape power, and effectively two greens before the mobs take you down like a red-headed step-blaster; Instant Healing may not even help because the -regen debuffs that are a danger could pretty much floor that as well. And for regen builds that lack any defense at all, they will get hit, they will lose HP, and you only have three chances to make a play. And pray that those same mobs don't also have defense debuffs, which only make your non-existent defense cap out those mobs' To-Hit.

    I don't know if Carnies are considered "standard" or "non-standard" situations, but I did run a Carnie tip mission, and all those -regen and -def debuffs shredded up my MA/Regen scrapper, and I couldn't even hit MoG to make a quick escape.
  20. SpiderTeo_OC
    I noted in the recent Scrapper Issues List that Regeneration is the only secondary that has no form of debuff resistance whatsoever. All of the other sets have some sort of debuff resistance in some way, whether it is something small or large, from -recharge debuff to even -regen debuff resists.

    I was running a +2/x4 Tip mission with Carnies on my MA/Regen last night, and I was getting eaten up by those mobs with all their debuffs: -def, - regen, -rec, -end, -dam, -to-hit, etc. With no native debuff resistance or even +defense, I had to consistently eat 2-3 purples for some mobs just to avoid those debuffs, even with Instant Healing up and running. It was not fun with all the hospital runs.

    So I was glad to go against Nemesis on the next mission, despite their perma-vengeance.
  21. SpiderTeo_OC
    Keep in mind that top chain requires about +225% recharge in Storm Kick, with comparable recharge in the other attacks as well. Even with Hasten, that is still a big number to reach without external buffs.

    I think it was Moonlighter who made a list of possible attack chains, with the original top SK-CK/CS-SK-CAK chain still on top.
  22. SpiderTeo_OC
    I have been testing with the changes in MA now, and Crane Kick seems to be your best power to drop. CAK is now your second hardest hitting attack, plus second highest DPS according to Werner.

    I don't know if you will get very high recharge on your /Shields without forgoing the soft-cap, but Boxing is a decent filler attack if you find yourself with gaps.
  23. SpiderTeo_OC
    Willpower's Fast Healing has a -regen debuff resistance...
  24. SpiderTeo_OC
    Okay, here's some of my preliminary thoughts on Martial Arts as well as a little bit on Regen....


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Stupid_Fanboy View Post

    Martial Arts - unresolved
    • Balance: Lack of AoE attacks limits the kinds of IO sets that can be slotted. Status Effect sets are little consolation as enhancing for their effects at the cost of Damage, Accuracy, End Cost and Recharge hurts the Scrapper's build - SpiderTeo_OC, 2009-02-10
    Move to Wishlist, as IO sets would significantly affect other ATs as well as Scrappers. This issue is mostly due to the Eradication and Obliteration sets, as they provide two of the most desired kinds of set bonuses, compared to just one for Single Target Melee sets (Eradication has +def(Eng/Neg/Ranged) and +def(AoE/Fire/Cold); Obliteration has +def(melee/S/L) and +recharge).



    Quote:
    • Balance: Martial Arts status effects are not nearly as consistent in application as other sets - SamChoice, 2005-10-31, clarified by Arcanaville
    • Balance: Martial Arts lacks a general secondary effect (Katana and Broadsword have -Def, Dark Melee has -Acc, Spines has Slow, Claws is faster and less END-costly) - SpiderTeo_OC, 2006-07-03
    With the major changes to Cobra Strike, this one power has helped to redefine Martial Art's niche among the other primaries. Though the raw stunning capabilities of the set has gone down slightly (Cobra Strike's 100% to stun dropped to 75%), the set's ability to consistenly perma-stun bosses has dramatically increased with Cobra Strike's recharge cut nearly in half. This gets even better with Eagle's Claw and possibly Thunder Kick as possible attacks.

    This allows a more consistent application of Martial Art's now generally accepted secondary effect in the form of a damage mitigation/soft-control effect in stunning, without sacrificing damage potential in the process.



    Quote:
    • Wishlist: Thunder Kick's disorient was more useful as a 100% chance of a mag 1 disorient which could then be stacked with Eagle Claw's disorient or Cobra Strike's disorient, than a 10% chance of a mag 2 disorient. - reported by Heroic, corrected by Arcanaville, 2006-12-08
    This could be left strictly as a Wishlist since Martial Arts has been remade with consistent stunning capabilities, though adding a better stunning attack wouldn't be turned down either.



    Quote:
    Martial Arts - IN PROGRESS
    • Balance: Lacks AoE attacks but doesn't have more single-target damage compared to other sets - SpiderTeo_OC, 2007-09-07
    Testing this out as we speak. At early levels (with comparatively low recharge as well), a strong attack chain can be establish by level 8 (maybe even level 6). I will be testing out my new MA/Shields Praetorian along the levels and see how it goes up to 50. I've tested my IO'ed L.50 MA/Regen on a Rikti Pylon to get an effective 186 dps. Also according to Bill Z Bubba's The Results Are In... Take 2 thread, it does seem to have respectable single target damage at low- to mid-level recharge, ie "standard slotting w/out Hasten."

    The changes to Cobra Strike and the damage buff to Crippling Ax Kick (from comparing the numbers from City of Data and from the new Mids, the damage buff is close to ~+17.7%!) allows for a little more flexibility in attack chains and overall increased damage.

    For now, I am testing the new MA's performance from low levels (using Storm Kick, Cobra Strike, and Crane Kick), to mid-levels (replacing Crane Kick for Crippling Ax Kick) with low- to mid- +recharge. High level and high recharge testing will also be tested on my MA/Regen. I won't be doing any heavy number crunching, but I will be checking out perceived performance against tough targets (bosses, EBs, pylons, and maybe AVs). So far, this issue seems to be close to being resolved, but I don't want to make any definite comments until I'm done testing.



    Quote:
    • Balance: Cobra Strike does too little damage for its recharge time, compared to utility powers in other sets like Divine Avalanche, Follow Up, and Impale. Mag 3 stun is useful but lacks a consistent stun power that can be paired for bosses - Arcanaville, 2006-03-10
    I would definitely say that this issue has been resolved. Cobra Strike can now be used in the top damage attack chains for the set. Plus, its lowered recharge time allows it to stack upon itself with either a moderate enhancement to recharge time or stun duration. Alternatively, it can be stacked with Eagle's Claw to quickly stun a boss.


    ----
    I remember saying in a thread a while back that one of the changes to help make Martial Arts a contender was "just to something, anything, to Cobra Strike." Despite the buff to Crippling Ax Kick and added Critical potential of Eagle's Claw, Cobra Strike has went from a purely optional power to redefining the set as a whole, putting it up there as a "must-have" power like Storm Kick. I am pretty contend with the set now, since it does very respectable single target damage, as well as consistent damage mitigation on its own.

    I do want to add just one little item as a wishlist for the set though:
    • Wishlist: Since Crippling Ax Kick now has a Defense Debuff effect, could Defense Debuff enhancemetns and IO sets be slotted into it? - SpiderTeo_OC, 2010-08-27







    Quote:
    Regeneration - unresolved
    • Wishlist: Regeneration is the only secondary set that does not have some sort of resistance to the debuff that affects its main strength, in this case Recharge or Regen. from several people – 2009-10-07
    I would personally like this to be made as a Balance issue after comparing Regeneration to all the other Secondary sets available. Even though Regen benefits greatly from +recharge buffs and suffers just as much from -recharge debuffs, I can accept not including Recharge Debuff Resistance within the set from a purely thematic perspective. However, not to include any form of native debuff resistance, even against -regen debuffs, seems to be overlooking the set's balance with other secondaries. Below is a list of each set with their native debuff resistance (outside of tier 9 powers), as well as other perks whether they are thematically appropriate or not:
    • Dark Armor: END Drain resist, +perception (effectively -stealth on foes)
    • Electric Armor: -recovery debuff resist, END drain resist, -recharge debuff resist, -slow debuff resist
    • Fiery Armor: -recharge debuff resist, -slow debuff resist
    • Invulnerability: defense debuff resist, -recharge debuff resist, -slow debuff resist, -recovery debuff resist, END drain resist
    • Shield Defense: defense debuff resist, -recharge debuff resist
    • Super Reflexes: defense debuff resist, +perception, -recharge debuff resist, -slow debuff resist
    • Willpower: -regen debuff resist, +perception, defense debuff resist

    Now Regeneration doesn't have any native debuff protection at all. It does have a redundant status protection and resistance for Stuns in Resilience, but even if the power is skipped, the scrapper has more than the usual amount of status protection from Integration.

    Other sets have some form of useful debuff resistance, even ones that have no real thematic purpose to be in the set, other than the name of the power. Even Willpower has -regen debuff resistance and defense debuff resistance to help keep its layered damage mitigation functional. Regeneration's Fast Healing doesn't even have any -regen debuff resistance, unlike Willpower's power of the same name. This is compounded by the fact that Regeneration's strongest form of damage mitigation is extremely high +regen. Most -regen debuffs in the game will easily floor a Regen Scrapper's +regen rate, even with Instant Healing up. Then the Regen Scrapper has two or three clicks to survive without any other native damage mitigation. That Willpower does have -regen debuff resistance while Regeneration has none seems to be an overlooked detail in the set's design.

    Okay, /end rant. If Regen were to get any kind of debuff resistance, thematically, -regen debuff resistance, -recovery debuff resistance, and END drain resistance would make sense, given that Regen's theme seems to keep on going, like an endless battery source or supper high metabolism. In a more practical sense, some -recharge debuff resistance would be nice given its clicky nature.





    NEW Regeneration unresolved issue...
    • Balance: Regeneration's self-rez (Revive) is a clearly inferior power compared to other self-rez powers in other secondaries; it only restores 50% health and endurance with a 4 second immobilization, while other sets' self-rez have useful effects to be used in combat, ie. temporary buffs (even with a crash later), AoE damage + KB effect, AoE stun, untouchable to self to avoid instant alphas. - SpiderTeo_OC, 2010-08-28
  25. SpiderTeo_OC
    I just want to make a correct here, that MA is not a low endurance set.

    With the recent I18 changes, MA now does take up more endurance than it used to than before, and it wasn't that much of a low endurance set. Specifically speaking, Crippling Ax Kick and Cobra Strike had their endurance costs raised slightly. It's not much, but I did notice a slightly quicker rate of END usage on my post-I18 MA/Regen. For short fights, it won't matter, but on protracted battles, I did notice it get uncomfortably low even with a 4.15 end/sec Recovery and Performance Shifter Chance for +END proc.

    As for what you should build for in terms of set bonuses, I would agree that getting +recharge is your best bet. It will help up the DPs for MA, and it will also help bring back Healing Flame sooner as indicated.

    As for what you should look for, you want to get at least +225% recharge into Storm Kick to get the best attack chain for MA (SK->CS/CK->SK->CAK). I slotted SK with 5-slotted Hecatombs, and the 6th slot either with a damage proc of a +recharge IO if you need it while aiming for that +225%.

    With just the Hecatombs, you would need about +67.5% global recharge to get that kind of +recharge for SK with Hasten up.

    Second best set bonuses to aim for is defenses, though if you don't feel comfortable your positional defenses, then aiming for S/L is not a bad idea either. I haven't played with /FA enough to be more help,