Star_Sentinel

I forgot to put this up last week, but my Warshade Nebulous Shade hit 50 last week.

My Illusion Storm, Tanakaza hit 50 today as well. That's number 5. Now I have to decide which to push next? 40 Ill/Rad Troller or 40 Stone/Ice tank.

I have to say that I'm excited about i14. The video was really good. Well written with subtle things like not knowing the guy Joel's name and what not. I wouldn't have thought NCSoft would pay for the Barenaked Ladies singer to participate, but who knew? He really made that part. It was funny.

Informative? I think a little. It at least pointed out that you can't make missions super easy and expect massive rewards.

Overall good work everyone on i14. I know you've worked hard, and we wont let you down.

/e runs off to write a level 50 Hellions story arc.

I'm excited about i14, but I dont have to have a beta invite. There are MANY others who would be much better & give better feedback. I just would like to see some more info disclosed when you can.

Whoo! Very excited to see some MA stuff. It looks like you guys made the right decision in holding off to polish it more... Not that it didn't LOOK right before.

Overall I'm quite excited to write out a storyline involving my signature character, and I look forward to seeing what others come up with. *Cranes his neck looking for TroyHickman.

Crackling Embers, my Fire/Kin has reached 50. I ran 3 or 4 ITFs to move him from 45-50 in one day. Long day, but fun ride.
Next up will be my Warshade or my Ill/Storm. Both around the same level....

My namesake character- Star Sentinel has returned to 50. I deleted him as a MA/Regen scrapper because he was PL'd back before i4. Now I finally have him back at 50 as an Inv/EM tanker. I have severe altitis, but many characters now in the home stretch to 50 as well.

[ QUOTE ]
Awsome 1st run!

62 minutes and a LotG for my Controller!

2nd run in 20 minutes!

see ya there!



[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Bod.

I was on that run with my Ill/Rad, Doctor Klein.

Lots of fun on that run. Gained 2 levels from 25 to 27 on that run because I didn't have a sidekick, but since I was mainly debuffing & throwing PA for alpha strikes, it worked out well.

Please note: Posi's explanation of Leveling pact states it is for [u]new[u] characters. That means you and a friend roll 2 shield characters and while one is offline, the other can level for the two of them.

Cool stuff. I'll have to have a buddy to do this leveling pact with me. We both play at 2 different times during the week, but the same on the weekends.

Anyone else notice that this announcement came after the Booster Pack came out?

I hope that the sales of the Booster Pack is through the roof (as it should be. Props to JLove & BABs for some great stuff), and they are able to throw something else that's awesome into the game.

EDIT: Darn spelling.

Bruce....

1) Which summer super-hero movie was your favorite?

2) What will your Red name be?

Alrighty. I just got a chance to read this new guide for Ice/Fire. Very nice guide. I would like to throw in my 2 cents.

#1 is Endurance Management. It is a pain until you get EA at 26. I agree with you in holding off on Icicles until 22, after you've picked up Stamina. While I see you've chosen wisely with your IOs, if someone doesn't have it 100% exact and are only using an End Redux in their FA, CE, GA, Tough, Weave and 2 in Icicles, they're using 1.71 end per second and gaining only 2.73. So it's gonna get rough Endurance wise. Just keep an eye one that.

#2. As you stated, this build is for being Alpha strike ready. I would have picked up the Pyre Mastery pool instead, but my build is for herding and doing more damage. Yours is on the more defensive side with Tough/Weave, but looks good to me.

#3. Quick mention on Frankenslotting. For those considering an Ice/Fire. Consider using Acc/Dams End/Dams a lot from different sets. You won't get set bonuses, but the results are quite nice.

#4. Chilling Embrace- Another reason this power is awesome, is that there is a 14% damage resistance built in as well.

#5. You mentioned a coding put into COH so that foes never miss more than 4 times. I understand that is only applied to Heroes/Villains, not NPCs. If you watch your combat window and you miss 4 times, after that you see "Auto-hit Enemy for X damage (which sucks if its brawl)." I've never seen that occur against me. You'll just a see a foe have a 5.5% chance to hit and roll a 2.09.

Overall a good guide. I give it my thumbs up.

[ QUOTE ]
I just want the game to be fair. If burn has a fear component, then so should Fire Control's Hot Feet (Because that is more controlling).

[/ QUOTE ]

.... So all damage auras should fear?

Castle, do it up!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hot feet is like a mobile burn in the hands of Fire Controllers. I say, if Burn gets fear, then Hot feet should as well.

If it has a fear component, it must be like mag .5, because I never see anyone run away from my Firekin. Immobilized or not.

[ QUOTE ]
Johnny Butanes belief system is a game should be horribly unbalanced and retarded in the name of realism. (As long as it only makes the characters he likes ridiculously powerful, starting with Inv/SS)

[/ QUOTE ]

I just want the game to be fair. If burn has a fear component, then so should Fire Control's Hot Feet (Because that is more controlling).

I like seeing necro'd posts like this from 4 years ago. It's cool to see just how much has changed in the last 4 years.

Sure, this Statesman is gone (and I think the game's better off from a customer's standpoint), but there still is a Statesman, but we are under the guide of Positron (Matt Miller).

While Jack seems to be under the belief that Tanks should have to team, as should Scrappers, Defenders, Khelds, and every other archetype, Posi feels that you should be able to solo or team. Your choice. I like Matt's belief system better.

[ QUOTE ]
Can you please post the release notes in the forums for those of us that can't get to gaming sites at work?

Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

Try uk.cityofheroes.com

Great vid. Why do you keep putting that Cryptic Studios logo on the vids? Cryptic no longer owns the CoX IP anymore right?

I'm totally excited about it. The roman armor looks great and will be a welcomed addition to my endless hours in Icon.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That brings me to the next topic: Epic Power Pool choices. There are several, but in my opinion there are really two choices you should consider: Fire Mastery & Psionic Mastery.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, I'm curious why you didn't consider Stone Mastery. I see it in gmanskillaz's build, which looks to be very good.
*snip*

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd be glad to explain further. Mainly people use Firekins as group mob slayers. The key to accomplishing this role is defeat them before they defeat you. Your typical attack routine is going to be Flash fire, Fire Cages, Fulcrum shift, Fireball/Psionic Tornado, etc...

The reason you'd go Fire Mastery is for that quick destructing AOE attack, Fireball at level 41. It accomplishes your goal of defeating everyone quickly much sooner. The Fire shield is really just an added bonus. You'll have them down before they can react (I imagine).

The reason to go Psionic Mastery is to cover the major gap in your protection: [u]Mezzes [u] (Sleeps/Holds/Disorients/etc...). By having Indomitable Will, you now have a major defense against those pesky foes that you'll encounter during those levels such as Rikti Headmen weapons, Chief Mentalists, Illusionists (CoS), Tasers from the Malta, etc... If you run into a group, and one of those hits you and mezzes you, you could be down before you know it. With my route you'll very rarely encounter such problems (Unless you didn't click it before hand). So rather than hitting Earth's Embrace, getting Mezzes and hope you can 'weather the storm,' you never get mezzed.

Fissure is a good power. I like all that it does, and the added stun feature is wonderful. My take, is coming from that at 41 I have Flash fire slotted with 2 Accy & 3 Recharge Reducers. There is a 15 second window for Disorient with Flash fire. Typically I have the foes arrested within that 15 second window and that is without Psionic Tornado or Fireball, so imagine what it will be like with it.

Don't get me wrong, Stone Mastery is good, but I feel that the better of the choices are Fire and Psionic Mastery, with the latter being my choice. To each his own, that is just my 0.02.

That is an interesting build Drummz. Not bad, mind you, I've just never seen a build with Fly or Teleport in a Fire/Kin. They typically go for Super Speed for the quickest runs between groups, or Super Jump so they can get Acrobatics and have big KB defense.

[ QUOTE ]
I saw this idea when it was first posted.. I can't believe its still alive! Im amazed...

[/ QUOTE ]

May 2006 was when it was started. So that means people have been asking for this for a year and a half. I think that's a reasonable time for the devs to consider it.

BRB is the new Villian EAT.

Indestructible, fun, and minor smashing damage.

I thought I'd add some more information for those who are playing/considering to play. It has to do with higher-end game play 38 and up. Additionally I want to discuss/suggest your Epic Powers.

I have achieved level 39 so far and I'm having a blast. I had suggested during the 35-40 span to go into the RWZ and defeat spawns, but I abandoned that and went into Crey's Folly instead. Why?

If you've ever played against the Rikti, you'll know what I'm talking about. The main weakness of a controller is our weakness against other control type effects (Holds/Stuns/Sleeps). Since the weapons of the Rikti have a chance to stun (not to mention the Mentalists), it goes without saying that if you run into a group of 10, there's a good chance you're getting stunned/held. Several people have suggested going the Combat Jumping/Acrobatics route to help cover the holding, and I'm OK with that, but that still leaves us vulnerable to Stuns and Sleeps.

While in Crey's I have begun mobbing the Freak show. They aren't resistant to Fire, which helps, and they seem to be vulnerable to my Flash fire's stun effect. By the time I've run in with hot feet, done my FS/Fire cages combo they're down pretty quickly. Not to mention that the XP per min is very good for them. Be aware of the Stunners & the Smashers who can sleep/stun you respectively and also the Tanks who can stun you and kill you quickly with their big damage.

The main thing I'm trying to get across is that you'll need to be aware of your vulnerabilities. Either stock up on inspirs to free you from stuns/sleeps or make sure you're using char to incapacitate them quickly and keep them that way. So strategy is key.

That brings me to the next topic: Epic Power Pool choices. There are several, but in my opinion there are really two choices you should consider: Fire Mastery & Psionic Mastery.

Why Fire Mastery?

The obvious reason is synergy. You're a Fire/Kin and now you've mastered Fire. The second reason is that you get a powerful AOE attack at 41, Fireball. As if you didn't drop foes fast enough, now add another AOE and they're down even faster. There is also Fire blast which is a single-target ranged fire attack. As with all the Epics you'll get a toggle resistance power against Smashing/Lethal. Additionally Fire Shield resists Fire attacks. Lastly there is Consume which is another END recovery tool. Not really needed since you should have gotten Transference at 35 and have it slotted with at least 1 END mod. Overall a good choice.

Why Psionic Mastery?

Now here is one that actually has synergy as well, and I'm going to recommend it over Fire Mastery. Why? I'll explain. As I mentioned before the controllers main vulnerability is getting held/stunned/slept and then you get ganked while you're stopped. With Psionic Mastery you get Indomitable will right at 41. It gives you a Mag 10 defense against Holds/Sleeps/Stuns/Fear as well as some defense against Psionic. It's a 90 second click power with a 360 second recharge. With recharge reducers/hasten/siphon speed you can get it down to around 115 second recharge, so you'll only be without it for 25 seconds or so by 42. There is a Smashing/Lethal/Psionic resistance toggle as well at 44 with Mind over body.
"But I'm going to lose my AOE if I take Psionic mastery!" That's not true. Consider Psionic Tornado (47). It has roughly the same damage as Fireball (like 99.591%) and is an AOE. The only difference is that you're getting the protection you desperately need.

So in conclusion, there are tough choices ahead. Go for more damage or better protection?

Since I play tankers a lot, I'm going to recommend the protection route. It will pay off in the long run since you'll be facing tough foes frequently who can mez you. My way, it will never be a problem. Additionally you'll have the same damage output as Fire Mastery by 47.

[ QUOTE ]
This really should be moved.

[/ QUOTE ]

+1

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm just curious, if your goal in a farm mish is to get from one mob to the next, why wouldn't you pick up Hasten/Super speed only? If you want to jump, get Inertial Redux. I've gone that route, and couldn't be happier.


[/ QUOTE ]



I got leaping for the mez protect, and I honestly wouldn't bother with SS because I have Siphon Speed for all my running needs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe I'm wrong, but all I see from mids is some Immobilization Resistance.

I tried going with just Siphon Speed and hated it. I only use siphon for recharge enhancement now.

[ QUOTE ]
with a fire/kin there is no real need to slot damage enhancements at all, as 8 applictions of fuclrum shift and your at damage cap, so someone could just slot a lot of recharge/acc and end reducer to help in those areas.

[/ QUOTE ]
True as well.