Sweetmeat

Earth/Storm and Illusion/Storm are tied for most fun and most capable. Actually anything /Storm has been fun. I'll give a nod to Earth/TA as another one that's really fun and very different.

I almost went with the Earth APP as well, but went Ice instead as Fissure will really lower the damage Seeds is doing. Of course you've got Creepers perma by then, and can do a lot of damage with Fissure and Seismic Smash so it's probably a wash.

Each set is going to deal damage differently, so without knowing what you are playing it's really hard to give advice on what to use for damage.

Air Superiority can be a pretty good supplemental source of both Damage and Control. For Ice, Earth, Plant, and Fire the single target Immobilize slotted for damage can help, also slotting a little damage in your single target hold can help.

If you were to say what sets you are playing the advice can be tailored to your character.

Local has some good advice. If I were doing Plant/Rad it would look something like this:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Plant Control
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Strangler -- Empty(A), Empty(3), Empty(3), Empty(15), Empty(19), Empty(37)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Empty(A), Empty(5), Empty(48)
Level 2: Radiation Infection -- Empty(A), Empty(5), Empty(7), Empty(37)
Level 4: Roots -- Empty(A), Empty(7), Empty(15), Empty(19), Empty(34), Empty(36)
Level 6: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Seeds of Confusion -- Empty(A), Empty(9), Empty(9), Empty(11), Empty(11), Empty(13)
Level 10: Accelerate Metabolism -- Empty(A), Empty(17), Empty(25)
Level 12: Air Superiority -- Empty(A), Empty(13), Empty(23), Empty(31), Empty(34)
Level 14: Fly -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Hover -- Empty(A), Empty(17)
Level 18: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A), Empty(21), Empty(21)
Level 22: Hasten -- Empty(A), Empty(23)
Level 24: Entangle -- Empty(A), Empty(25), Empty(31), Empty(37), Empty(40), Empty(43)
Level 26: Carrion Creepers -- Empty(A), Empty(27), Empty(27), Empty(29), Empty(29), Empty(31)
Level 28: Mutation -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Vines -- Empty(A), Empty(34), Empty(39), Empty(40)
Level 32: Fly Trap -- Empty(A), Empty(33), Empty(33), Empty(33), Empty(46), Empty(50)
Level 35: Enervating Field -- Empty(A), Empty(36), Empty(36)
Level 38: EM Pulse -- Empty(A), Empty(39), Empty(39), Empty(40)
Level 41: Ice Blast -- Empty(A), Empty(42), Empty(42), Empty(42), Empty(43), Empty(43)
Level 44: Frost Breath -- Empty(A), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(45), Empty(46), Empty(46)
Level 47: Lingering Radiation -- Empty(A), Empty(48), Empty(48)
Level 49: Ice Storm -- Empty(A), Empty(50), Empty(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment



I tend to slot accuracy first, then damage/hold duration ( depending on the power) then recharge and endurance reduction. When using Seeds of Confusion, Radiation Infection will work against you if you managed to hit the entire mob. I would probably save the Rad Infection for teams, or boss fights ( seeds is unreliable vs bosses ). This build should give you a good mix or reliable AoE damage and control, though it is a little slow out of the gate for solo.

One thing I've noticed that the guide doesn't address is the procs chance to actually hit the mob. I believe it has base accuracy and is effected by both accuracy buffs and defence debuffs. What I don't know is whether it gains the accuracy of an attack power if it's in one. Does anyone know whether this is the case?

Most of my procs are in toggles or click powers such as Earthquake or Quicksand that don't deal damage on their own. As such with just base accuracy they aren't very useful against bosses and higher level mobs because they tend to "miss" even if they proced. If you can get defence debuffs working ( Freezing Rain, Quicksand, Radiation Infection ) then their chance to "hit" goes up.

If anyone knows better how this actually works, I'd love to hear the numbers behind it.

[ QUOTE ]


Some of the posts I've read in this thread basically imply that Stamina isn't necessarily worthwhile. I'd love to get more perspectives on that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think most people are saying to not take stamina, but saying instead that the 4th 5th and 6th slot you would put in it could get you much better returns if you used that slot as an end reducer in another power.

I have fooled around with Stamina-less builds, and find that not only does my mana not work well without stamina( no matter how I slot for end reduction ) but I REALLY miss swift and health as well.

OK I've been reading the threads on the effects of ED and some of my concerns have been voiced by others ( the effects of ED gutting integration for regen scrappers after placing instant healing on a longer than 10 min timer, the effects on Tanks of all stripes of being niether able to take it nor to dish it out), but one of my main concerns has not.

I like hasten because I effectively get 12-18 slots worth of recharge reduction for 6 slots. I perma hasten not because I always want the power up, but because of the serious endurance cost when it goes down. Before getting it perma, the end loss when hasten goes down has killed me more than any other thing I can think of. Now that it won't be perma any more, that effect will return with a vengence, and this puny 13% end reduction will NOT make up for the huge gaping gash in my end bar when hasten drops. Add that to the recharge times on things like phantom army, instant healing, any AOE controll, and burn and more than half the toons I play will be sucking wind hard.

I've been playing CoH since shortly after start, and up till now I've been telling people that it is the best designed MMORPG I've ever played. Partly this is because of the variety of ways one can build their characters, but mainly because after lvl 20, there is VERY LITTLE down time, and I actually FEEL powerfull. Hell I feel HEROIC! Honestly looking at the numbers inherant to ED changes I see lots of downtime and defeated heroes in the future, and should that come to pass, the things I like best about the game will have departed.

If I wanted to feel medocre, I could just sit on the couch and watch E!, or I'd still be playing my Paladin in EQ who couldn't solo a mob that would give her exp.

In conclusion, with I5 you took the Super out of Super Hero. Ok so not Super, but still Heroic. With ED, I think the Hero will come out of that as well. This leaves me with what? Watching what Paris Hilton did this week?

Thanks guys, way to make my day.