Steel_Shaman

I like your idea. Control would still be very useful in that you could lock an AV out of being able to use some of its most dangerous powers, but it would still have access to abilities that make it a challenge.

Very neat.

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How about powerset color customization? Or a morality system?

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<gasp>

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Ice/Ice is horrendously End intensive in the low levels. Arctic Air and ISC are the main culprits, so if your friend watches his usage of those powers he should do better. AA in particular can usually be put off until after stamina, as long as you spam the heck out of Shiver.

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Bingo. If he has and is using Arctic Air that is his problem. Even with Stamina and SO's AA can still cause endurance issues.

There's one part of the CoV lore that's been bugging me for some time. The question is in a couple parts, so bear with me:

1) Is Lord Recluse recognized by the U.N. as the legitimate ruler of the Rogue Isles?
2) If so, why hasn't he gone to the U.N. to petition for sanctions to get Longbow out of his country?

I mean, here we have what is basically one person (Miss Liberty) who has sent her private army into a sovereign nation. They have set up bases and are constantly attacking citizens and the official military of that country.

I understand that every fictional setting requires some suspension of disbelief, but Longbow stretches that well beyond the breaking point IMHO.

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Okay, obviously the pre-i15 guides are not nearly as useful as they were. I’ve read the patch notes and followed many recent threads, but I am still unsure how I15 affects the solo dom. There are a lot of threads saying “Wow my (whatever) / (whatever) dom has really improved,” but it’s difficult to get a sense of how they compare.

Are there any opinions as to most effective solo builds for PvE? Or should I just stay with my ice/ice blaster, who has great damage and pretty good damage mitigation through holds and slow effects? I really like being a “blastroller,” but dominator seems to be the AT which most closely fits this playstyle and I’ve never played one before. I’m not particularly drawn to any concept build, I don’t really care if I am using plant, fire, or gravity powers.

If there are any posts or recent guides on this subject that I’m missing please let me know. Even paragonwiki basically says all the information on doms is out of date.

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I've played my 2 older Doms and made a new one since I15 hit. My experiences with them:

Plant/Thorn (old character): Meh. He does do more damage than before, but to be honest I just don't care for /thorns. It may not be logical or numerically sound, but the set doesn't have the "feel" of high damage to it for me.

Ice/Ice (old character): He solos extremely well. Running Arctic Air can cause Endurance issues at times even with Stamina. My answer to that is I typically toggle it on and off as the situation requires. Doing this causes him to have no real End issues.

Mind/Fire (new character): I made this character specifically to try out the leveling experience on Doms in I15. I LOVE him. Mind is an awesome, control heavy set and fire is, well, it's FIRE.

My 2 infamy.

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Cool, now I'm wondering what are other good combos for doms for soloing now that I15 is out?

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I've been having a blast with my new mind/fire. Even with just SO's right now he solos really well.

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Fire blast is a top contender In st damage and aoe, and people want more?

I get the feeling this is the old case of: give an inch, they try to take a yard.

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I think it's more along the lines of the AT has changed, and people are resisting adapting to those changes. That's the impression I'm getting from a lot of people, anyway.

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Even a lot of 'good' mutations come with some really big downsides.

Look at Cyclops, who if it weren't for modern science, would not be able to turn off his eye beams at all. He's got no control over his powers besides closing his eyes, rendering him effectively blind if it weren't for that visor.

And Rogue. Yes, she can absorb anyone's powers, memory and life force- and can't turn it off either. She can never make physical contact with another living being without killing them as long as she has that power.

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Actually, IIRC Cyclops lacks the ability to turn off his powers due to a head injury he received as a child. It damaged the part of his brain that was supposed to allow him to control the blasts, effectively sticking them "on" permanently.

Though you are spot on about Rogue. She's an excellent example of a mutation with a severe downside.

Ah, I completely didn't think about it stacking with the Dark Servant's powers. Yeah, that does add a new twist to it. I may just keep it after all. Thanks!

I've got Petrifying Gaze on my Thugs/Dark right now and so far have been really unimpressed with it. I'm considering dropping it from my build but wanted to get the opinion of the community. Does it get better with heavy slotting? Because so far it just doesn't seem that great.

Honestly the stability issue you are referring to sounds more like a server overload problem. Freedom has always been very high pop compared to the other servers. I play on Liberty and haven't seen the issues you are describing at all. (Other than the chat bug of course, which is annoying as all get out.)

Since the updater is currently patching the game to the same version number as Test, I would say chances are pretty good.

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Subterfusion, Illusion/Radiation controller
I also like my Thugs/Dark MM, Urban Shadows.

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For me, the issues would be resolved on several characters if the Dev's would just re-shuffle a few powers around in the sets to help smooth out the curve. No, I don't mean Tier 9's at level 1, either.

But surely everyone has played at least one character that, after getting "that one magic power" everything got all better. For my Ice Tanker, it's Energy Absorption. If that power came earlier, it would have helped A LOT. For my Illusion Controller, it was Phantom Army. Only the fact that I knew PA was coming kept me playing him at first. I could go on, but you get the idea. Many sets feature extremely useful powers, that if they just became available a little bit earlier, would make the 1-20 game so much better.

I started leveling my first Tanker this week. Every night I log in, grab those from my global friends list that want to team up, then start sending out Broadcast messages and whispers. Usually within a few minutes I have a medium-large team. We then start running whatever missions people have. If no one has any, I'll hit up one of my contacts or the police band.

I've already met 2 new people to add to my global list and had several people add my Tanker as a local friend. Non-AE teams are out there all the time, it's nowhere near as grim as the doomsayers would have you believe.

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I was told in-game to drop tough b/c it was pointless in Ice Armor and just to keep weave! I am trying to fit in Ice Epic's last two powers because of the dud power I have to take to get them! 8(

Also Why In The World Would I Take A Sleep Power (Frozen Aura)? Am I missing something here?

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It's my understanding that you aren't really taking it for the sleep, but the AoE damage it does. My Icer obviously hasn't gotten to that level, but that's what I've been inferring about the power from the various comments I've seen.

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your location makes me chuckle

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Lol, I completely forgot that is what it was set to. That's a holdover from my days playing my Dom, who had stealth. I really should change it I guess.

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So no love for the regular Ice Sword, eh? Visually it's one of my favorite powers, but looking at the numbers in Mids I'm starting to feel like I should have taken Frost instead of it.

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Yeah, I could never fit in Regular Ice Sword...I mean, it really is a toss up between it and Frost, I usually just pick up Frost for the Cone.

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I see your point. Looking at my build plan it really does look like I have to choose it or Frost. Ah well, I'll eventually have the Greater Ice Sword anyway. Thanks for the tips, much appreciated.

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Ice Melee must haves are Ice patch, Freezing touch, Frozen Aura, and Frozen Fists...because you have to.

Greater Ice Sword is good, and so is Frost, so i generally get those as well.

For Ice Primary? Frozen, Wet Ice, Chilling Embrace, Hoarfrost, Glacial, Energy Absorbtion, Hibernate.

Icicles, I love it, but it isn't necessary, and Permafrost is a total dog of a power, unless you're putting the Steadfast +3 in it.

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So no love for the regular Ice Sword, eh? Visually it's one of my favorite powers, but looking at the numbers in Mids I'm starting to feel like I should have taken Frost instead of it.

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I'm growing a baby ice tank myself these days, so I've found the responses in this thread encouraging. My problem so far (level 21) hasn't been survivability, but trying to figure out what powers in Ice Melee I should or shouldn't take. This is my first Tank after almost four years of playing, so I'm at a bit of a loss.

Anyone have any advice on what powers in that set are skippable? Or what the "must haves" are?

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30 isn't too bad. I logged in to my defender I hadn't played in a long while and he had 187 if I remember correctly. Took forever to clean them out.

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What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What sever are you on???

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Liberty. Bear in mind, the defender in question had not been played in over a year, so it took a while for all that to build up.

30 isn't too bad. I logged in to my defender I hadn't played in a long while and he had 187 if I remember correctly. Took forever to clean them out.

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You nailed it right there.
I enjoy my doms specifically for the challenge. I also like the frantic, constantly moving, constantly responding to threats playstyle of Doms. But then, my first and still favorite character to this day was a Blaster, so go figure.

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I don't think that has really changed. Then again, that's true for Blasters, as you said, and it can be true for Defenders and Corruptors, as well. They aren't really a "pew pew" archetype, if you want to really succeed you need to use your buffs and debuffs intelligently, choosing the right targets and herding your foes so as many of them are caught in your debuffs as possible. It requires thought, as much as playing a Blaster or Dominator does.

And meleers, as well, work best if you use a little strategy. I've often said that one reason for the unpopularity of Doms and Stalkers are their more specific playstyles, they are more like the specific strategies employed by Blasters and Scrappers, respectively, for specific builds. So there may be this perception that they have a higher "learning curve".

The changes don't really make Dom's "dumber", though. You still need to employ the same strategies you needed to use during Domination, to ensure that you are safe enough to use melee attacks. You even have to be more cautious, since you do not have Domination-level holds to support your Domination-level damage. Sure, you can go charging in like a Blaster, but you'll faceplant like a Blaster, too. The damage is essentially just enough to keep you from being a total failure if you choose to brute force your way through.

That's hardly the best way to play, though.

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Oh I agree that Dom playstyle hasn't been made any "dumber". Like I said, I'm loving the idea that Domination can be saved for when it is really needed. Before, I felt pressured to have it going as much as possible. I don't feel that with my Doms on Test. I save it for those fights I know are going to be tough, or for a free End refill power. Domination use is much more tactical with the AT changes, and that's what I'm really liking.

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Ice/Ice. AFter having tested the changes with him, he is going to be a blast.

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Dom's requiring a higher degree of player competency (on avg) presents a barrier to entry that will always prevent them from being popular with the casual "I just wanna beat stuff up" crowd.

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You nailed it right there.
I enjoy my doms specifically for the challenge. I also like the frantic, constantly moving, constantly responding to threats playstyle of Doms. But then, my first and still favorite character to this day was a Blaster, so go figure.

That being said, I finally got the opportunity to test these changes this morning. For my Ice/Ice Dom? Straight to God Mode. My Plant/Thorn is going to need some reslotting, his End use is a bit too high. My Earth/Fire looks great though. Overall, I LOVE these changes, which perhaps makes me a bit weird.

The single biggest aspect of this change I love the most though? I no longer feel pressured to keep Domination going at all costs. I am now free to use it tactically as I need it. To me that makes it all worth it. Do I think these tweaks will make Doms more popular? Maybe. I expect a huge influx of Doms when I15 hits, then it will taper back off as people discover it is not a simple "pew pew" AT, as someone said earlier in the thread.