Steel_Shaman

<faints>
Soon(tm) just got a whole lot Soon(tm)-er it seems.

During Double XP Weekend I decided to try the only AT I've never given a fair shot: stalkers. I made a spines/ea Saturday and got him to 27 before the weekend ended.

I'm finding out that I had a lot of misconceptions about the AT that are pleasantly being proven wrong. Stalkers are not anywhere near as squishy as I thought, and the damage output is quite good.

My only struggle so far has been power choices. There are just too many powers that I feel I can't do without! Hide (duh), AS, Build Up, Placate, trying to squeeze in Stamina....

The end result has been that my 27 Stalker has no travel power yet. Based on my current plan he'll get SJ at 30. I just can't help but think I've made a bad power choice or two somewhere. I mean, shouldn't I be able to squeeze in a travel power AND Stamina before 30? I've never encountered an AT where this was a problem before.

I'm at work and don't have access to Mids, but here are the power selections I've made so far:

1) Barb Swipe
1) Hide
2) Lunge
4) Kinetic Shield
6) Assassin's Impaler
8) Build Up
10) Entropy Shield
12) Power Shield
14) Spine Burst
16) Swift
18) Health
20) Stamina
22) Placate
24) Impale
26) Combat Jumping

I suppose I could drop Barb Swipe, but at this point I feel that would leave me without what I consider a decent attack chain. I just can't stand waiting around on powers to recharge.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I feel like I'm beating my head against a rock. I know I could probably do a better build, but don't have enough experience with the AT to really know a better way to go about it.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I got my new plant/fire Dom from 30 to 34. I then finally decided to try a Stalker (only AT I've never had above 5 or so) and got one to 26.

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Carrion Creepers does many things, but none of them is really a mezz:
- Bramble (AoE slow)
- Entangle (AoE immobilize w/ DoT)
- Vine Smash (melee damage &amp; knockdown)
- Vine Thorns (ranged damage)

It is targetable and is useful for taking aggro and absorbing alpha strikes. It spawns vines for each foe and can put out a reasonable amount of damage. It has a 2 minute duration and will follow you.

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And don't forget the screaming. That, to me, makes this the scariest power I've ever seen on a Dom. The vines actually......wail.

&lt;shudder&gt;

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Wow, if that's the actual set.. Then, this is going to be the first Dominator set that has a Target AoE (ala Ball Lightning, Fireball, etc) with Fissure being the Tier9.

Heavy Mallet and Seismic Smash come a bit late considering where Tremor (crappy power personally) is located, and ugh not another Power Boost set...

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Tremor is actually an extremely useful survival tool. It's basically a soft control that will be in our secondary. Verah verah niiiice.

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lolVillains

I never have a problem getting on teams blueside, no matter the time OR server.

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That's because you're playing lolHeroes. Sorry just couldn't resist.

It's a known fact that there are a lot more people Blue Side than Red. This can make finding teams harder Red Side. It's not impossible, just harder, depending on server and time of day.

Which is why I'm really looking forward to Going Rogue. I literally cannot stand the hero AT's at all. With the exception of my controller, they're all just....meh. So I will finally get to play the AT's I enjoy on a side with a decent population.

And I would argue that the definition of min/max was expanded, and given a conditional statement. Since this portion of our debate is circular as we are BOTH right, let's just agree to disagree and move past that part, shall we?

I can see your point about liking the way a set worked before and not liking the new version though. I like the new fire myself. I can't really quantify why I do, I just do. To each his own I guess.

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I plan every build meticulously, min/maxing every character while trying to stick to my original idea. I just don't use IO's to do it, because I don't want to deal with the pursuit of "lewtz" in this game.

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Min/Maxing without going through the process of min/maxing. Interesting.


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You almost understood me, but didn't quite get there. I min/max without using IO sets. You know, the way people did before IO sets were added to the game? IO Sets were supposed to be optional, remember? Trust me, I am fully aware of the fact that my characters are not mathematically maxed out to what is possible in the game at this time. I don't care. They ARE min/maxed to the level required by the content, which did not get rebalanced by the addition of IO sets. And their performance is quite satisfactory in my opinion.

It boils down to us playing the game in different ways. I have never embraced the IO system (and never will until the Devs force me to by making them mandatory via content design). You have. Neither is "right" or "wrong". Just different.

But more on topic: I created a plant/fire to run with a friend's new SoA the other day. Due to work schedules we wound up soloing quite a bit. I went 1-14 mostly solo and didn't experience the misery you describe at all. Quite the opposite. The character is very strong. Does he have End issues? You bet. But it's by no means unmanageable. But then, I also have leveled quite a few Brutes, so maybe my tolerance level for that sort of thing is high.

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You Sir//Madam are an odd duck if you actually have played since 05. Let me guess? You like RP and live for a "concept" character with a "thematic" flow?

Thats absolutely wonderful!!!! Contrary to popular forum fanboi belief not EVERY player has that rp goal in mind when playing.In fact? Most do not.

Anyway, I am happy if this revamp makes doms more popular in game.Just like pvp is more popular.....

When was the last time any of you people lauding the dominator changes ran any SF?Please describe your experience now versus pre revamp. Are dominator's more sought for teaming?Just curious......

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Actually I've played since August of '04, but didn't reg on the forums until '05. As to your other questions: You couldn't be further off base if you tried. I plan every build meticulously, min/maxing every character while trying to stick to my original idea. I just don't use IO's to do it, because I don't want to deal with the pursuit of "lewtz" in this game. And I rarely RP.

I guess it must just really be that hard to understand that not everyone plays the same way, huh?

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Most likely the fire/psi permadom farmers are still crying. Oh well.

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Probably.

But as I told someone else recently, I regard IO's as totally optional. Because I dont have the inclination or where with all to bother with io's I don't actively pursue sets on any of my characters, nor do I spend a lot of time farming. My viewpoint is I should get something for nothing in every aspect of life or gaming therefore a bit congruent with the casual player mentality these wonderful changes were directed at!! So when I have someone (understandably) upset about the performance of their IO'd out to the gills character that did far better damage and didnt feel clunky telling me the increased damage I am obviously doing even though it was less damage than people who actually put an effort into their builds were doing prerevamp , I get cranky.

But back on topic: I love my lvl 30 dom!

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Fixed that for ya. Report back when you're 50 and still lovin the dom

Like I said awhile back... YOU don't know what you missed.

disclaimer: You is used as an understood not directed to the player I quoted.

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If what I missed was grinding endlessly hoping against hope for that rare drop so I could finally get a permadom, I'll pass thanks. If I wanted to grind for phat lewtz I'd be playing WoW. Been there, done that, got my epic T-Shirt. In the end I hated it, which is why I came home to CoV. This game was my first MMO and is still the best to me simply because "loot" isn't the main driver of the game.

And this is my original point: I pretty much ignore the existence of IO sets. I just don't see the need for them. I don't spend huge amounts of time on my characters farming or grinding TF's. For me level 50 is the end, not the beginning. Say what you will, but IO sets truly are optional. And I opt not to participate. So for me, yeah, this change to Dom's was huge and wonderful.

But to each his own. I don't begrudge anyone their favorite playstyle, whether it be farming, PvP, PvE, Badging, whatever floats their boat. I only take issue to the doomcrying I keep seeing, and the steadfast refusal to admit that the entire leveling experience of a Dom has been vastly improved. If what had to be sacrificed was some performance at the level cap in a game that doesn't even focus on the cap, I consider that to be unfortunate but it doesn't look like it will change any time soon. So we might as well try to get along with each other.

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Most likely the fire/psi permadom farmers are still crying. Oh well.

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Probably.

But as I told someone else recently, I regard IO's as totally optional. I don't actively pursue sets on any of my characters, nor do I spend a lot of time farming. My viewpoint is therefore a bit different than that of some people. So when I have someone (understandably) upset about the performance of their IO'd out to the gills character telling me the increased damage I am obviously doing is an illusion, I get cranky.

But back on topic: I love my doms!

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I'm fairly certain most of this enthusiasm is a placebo effect.

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I was wondering when one of the Disgruntled Dom Set was going to show up.

More to your point, I'm fairly certain that my personal experience with Doms in a variety of level ranges over the last few years directly contradicts your statement. Sorry that you disagree, but I find it very hard to believe that every person who has said "Doms are more fun now" is imagining things, myself included.

Editing my post to add: I apologize for the degree of hostility in the above. I understand that for some playstyles and builds the buff was actually a nerf. But for many, it was a buff, and we are having a blast now. Let us have our fun, ok?

Awesome, glad you're enjoying the changes. I've been having a blast myself.

Now if the Dev's would just go ahead and give us Earth Assault. . . .like, yesterday.

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Changes with potential to break player-created content should be included in patch notes. There's no reason not to note them once the changes have already been made.

There's also no reason to accuse the OP of breaking the Eula.

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Exactly. The Dev's can do so without saying something was an exploit. It would be as simple as a line like this:

"Generators are no longer available as destructible objects."

A single sentence like that does not tell anyone how to exploit. But it DOES give a heads up to players that used them that their arc may now no longer function. Do the Dev's "owe" us this? Nope. But it would be courteous of them to do so.

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So you're saying science has nothing to do with altering DNA, Transgendering, and all around molecular restructuring?

To me, that's a bucket load of science right there.


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That's one explanation you can use for the dramatic differences in costumes possible with the Super Tailor. Another is what I used for my Mind/Fire Dom: he's a shapeshifting demon, and his alternate slots that are dramatically different from his base costume are different forms he takes to deceive humans.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Super Tailor feature in and of itself didn't HAVE to be part of a themed booster, as the ability to drastically alter one's appearance is not something specific to Science origins.

That being said, I'm not really upset it was in the booster. I can understand where some might be frustrated though.

Ambushes got you down? Do your EB's have more followers than a religious prophet? Then allow me to introduce you to the solution! Just give a call to......The School of Domination!

Yes, for the low low price of a team invite, you too can have a Dominator follow you around turning huge teeming spawns into blubbering idiots while you flay them alive! Act now and receive our Issue 15 special. That's right Villains, your very own Lord Recluse T-Shirt autographed by a certified Lord Recluse impersonator!

Don't delay, The School of Domination is just a /tell away!

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Psst.........It was a reference to the Six Million Dollar Man TV show.
...I just pointed that out several posts up.

Who knows, maybe inflation has gone crazy in Paragon City.

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Sorry, I hadn't been awake long this morning when I posted that and totally overlooked your post. Need....more...coffeee........

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Well they had the technology, so they had to rebuild him...

Would be a waste of tax payers money if they didn't...not to mention when is the chance your going to get to spend Six Million Dollars of taxpayers money on cybernetically enhancing someone...I mean...it only happens once every twenty or so years...

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...this is City of Heroes, you can pick up bionics at the electronics store down the street.

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Psst.........It was a reference to the Six Million Dollar Man TV show.

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Because fighting mobs is a fun thiing to do! You don't need to farm.
Also, don't QQ about IOs. They are optional.

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Indeed they are. I spent the last year raiding in WoW (yuck). The "pursuit of purples" is the absolute last thing I want to do in this game right now. When one of my friends gets whatever IO he's desperate for, I'm happy for him. But for myself I will NOT be hooked into the pursuit of Phat Lewtz again.

The game is what you make it. It's still more than possible to have fun at any level, as long as you have the right expectations.

From reading over the problems you're having, I would say Gravity's AoE soft control (or lack thereof) is really the issue.

My mind/fire has little difficulty with large spawns, thanks to Mass Hypnosis. I have the power slotted such that if need be I can keep an entire spawn slept indefinitely. Given the kill speed of /fire, I rarely need to renew it more than once.

DarkCurrent, I would think the first priority should have been to get the AT to a state that it was fun to play without having to jump through the IO hoops required for achieving PermaDom. But that's just me.

PToD is an entirely different issue from what the changes in this patch were meant to address.

And like it or no, there are more people playing Doms right now. Whether or not they all remain is still up in the air, but alienating them isn't exactly the best way to make this a more popular AT. If you and the others who share your views continue to insult and degrade every person that was drawn to the AT by the recent changes you will accomplish very little.

More on topic, I still say this would be a good change. In their current state, the PToD are poor design. They severely hamper the effectiveness of two AT's, leaving most of the others relatively untouched in terms of performance. Changing them to a more Defiance-like behavior would be an excellent move, in my opinion.

This is happening at the tailors too. You can't see wings or auras since no animations are playing.