SwiftOneSpeaks
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Oh, sorry, I must have expressed myself poorly. The problem is not "How do I find the time to do an ITF?" it's "In the two-hour window I might be on in, there is a very low chance of there BEING an ITF". BAF, I've found, runs almost constantly during peak times (though many people are shifting to the newer stuff which I'll avoid until level shifted)Originally Posted by Ukaserex
Given what you're telling us - I'm not sure why you would be able to fit a BAF in, and not an ITF.
So my question was really "How can I make sure I have an event (ITF, whatever) happening during the time I'm on?"
Ah! So your advice is not to worry about ITF specifically, but just to run whatever TFs I can find? That can greatly help address my primary problem.Quote:Originally Posted by Ukaserex
They fail to realize that they could almost the same number of baddies by doing a different task force, and then another within the same time frame of one kill all ITF.
Amusingly, you ran the BAF/LAM I was in on. I made sure to /tell you in advance that I wasn't level-shiftedQuote:Originally Posted by Ukaserex
So, I don't take the time to do a BAF or LAM unless I'm pretty sure of success.
Aside from one lousy prisoner escaping at the last minute (not my fault!) we were quite successful - I even helped kill adds with the other scrappers - though as you pointed out in your reply, it was a beefy group with lots of support.
I certain don't WANT to be a leech or drain. I have no intention of touching UGT, TPM, or MOM until level-shifted unless explicitly invited. Heck, I'd rather not go along on BAF or LAM, but when I log on I have a limited window of time to find a group doing SOMETHING...and it seems trials are the most common SOMETHING. In the last month I've seen one ITF. Per your advice above I can start joining WTF which do form a bit more frequently, but Trials are still the most common thing to form that I've seen - particularly if it's not a weekend.
Aside from joining LB and waiting for someone to run something, is there anything I can do to improve the odds that I find a group to join (I'm not a tanker or MM, and MSR kills my video card in ways that nothing else has, so those events are out
)
Thanks for the advice all, and I'll definitely save the salvage/threads to get level shifted pronto! -
I just dinged 50...and noticed that I still have the Flames of Prometheus power. I thought this was supposed to go away at 50.
I'm not complaining, as I'm happy to have the +regen and +Recovery, but I'd hate to be balancing my build on a bug that will go away... -
I (finally) have my new 50*, a KM/WP Scrapper Villain. How do I get him into the incarnate stuff? Conventional Wisdom says "ITF", but my online availability is pretty limited, and there doesn't appear to be any reliable way to find/join an ITF.
I was able to drop into a BAF and LAM last night and that made some progress, but I'd love to fill the Alpha slot and get the level shift as intended.
If I post on here with "ITF on XXXX Night", can I find someone willing to run it an enough people to participate? I've mainly done solo content, so I'm very limited on my experience regarding TFs and the like.
* = He's my 3rd 50, but the first that I've tricked out with sets and I've not really teamed with the others aside from a few BAFs on my Brute, Murderous Mime. -
Here's the chunk, sorry, I thought that was included.
Thanks for the comments thus far. That said, I didn't really see how the linked mini-guide said my sloting was off. Said guide didn't mention Body Mastery at all that I saw, and While Stamina is nicer than QR for Performance Shifter, I didn't see that both was an issue. Can you explain a bit more?
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Quote:As mentioned, origin never really mattered (I've never understood why the game says "Technology Brute" vs "Dark/Dark Brute", as that's more informative). That said, I do feel like there should be more "intro" content that takes the sewer trail into account. No one is forced to do the sewer, but it's GREAT to teach new players team-play, which is something I would have dearly loved when I was new to the game and as someone still new to teaming I find it great, so "you don't have to do sewers" sort of misses the point.Originally Posted by MetalBritches
1) The Hollows and the radio missions have become neglected as characters level past them after a few runs through the sewer trials. I have managed to hit level 16 in a matter
The sewer trial really prepped me (who didn't do TFs) to join in iTrials. BAF was understandable and made less confusing by a familiar interface and prompts. Far superior to what I've seen in other games, and TFs are a confusing mess in comparison.
A lot of responses thus far miss part of this point. I played almost exclusively red-side for years. Smaller zones, tight missions, I liked it. Now that I'm exploring teaming, there's a real incentive to just play blue-side. (I've wondered why the sewer trail wasn't cross-sides. Each side could see their respective prompts)Quote:Originally Posted by MetalBritches
2) Making a Villain ("red-side") character is now pointless, causing all of that content to
I wouldn't say being red-side is "meaningless" - the meaning is to have fun. I would say it's at a disincentive, which is an unfortunate thing to do to one of the game features that can draw and keep players.
I just have to disagree. I like the new tutorial, I thought the audio added a lot. I like that it introduces zone events and combat. I like that it gets you into the game faster and with less tedium. I do think they can add more optional "tell me more about" type stuff, but that's a fairly minor nit.Quote:Originally Posted by MetalBritches
3) The Tutorial now has less meaning. The run-up to the release touted it as a more
The stuff I see new players confused about is not things that were in the tutorial (new or old).
I don't really see this related to VIP one way or the other.Quote:Originally Posted by MetalBritches
I'm not jumping ship, or anything, but I'm a whole lot less enthusiastic about maintaining my "VIP" status. -
I'm building towards t4 Musculature (I'm tired of Cardiac), and I'd like to keep Body Mastery as my EPP. I'm shooting for high damage, single target, high regen, no downtime. I solo a lot, but when I hit 50 I expect more than one BAF and the like. (I know I can make different builds, but if I can get one build to cover me all the better for my budget)
See my attempt below. My primary questions are:
* Do I have the slots between Health/Fast Healing/Physical Perfection distributed well?
* I've got a power basically available - currently I've put it to Stealth. I could do Hasten, but with Hasten/Tough/Weave/Combat Jumping I'm feeling like all my Brutes are the same. And while Hasten would be nice, it doesn't seem like it'd be necessary with this build. Is there way to make Stealth work?
* With t4 Musculature boosting my many means of End Mod, this works well for end...except that Assault, Sprint, and Stealth are all costly. I can run without when needed (turn on in teams, for example, where there tend to be enough boosts to make up the difference), but if there'd be a way to get something in there, all the better. I'm not devoted to either Assault or Stealth though.
* I'm just shy of softcapping S/L (without stealth included, that does it), but that's it. Advice on improving this welcome.
Please don't assume I'm at all familiar with the quarks/customs. Treat me as an intelligent bu ignorant newb. Thanks!
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Taxing: Level 50 Technology Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Kinetic Melee
Secondary Power Set: Willpower
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery
Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1: Quick Strike
(A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
(3) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
(3) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
(5) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(5) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(7) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance
(A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
(7) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/Endurance
(9) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
(27) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
Level 2: Body Blow
(A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
(9) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
(11) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
(11) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(13) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
(13) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
Level 4: Smashing Blow
(A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
(15) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
(15) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
(17) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(17) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
(19) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
Level 6: Power Siphon
(A) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge
(19) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff
(21) Rectified Reticle - Increased Perception
(48) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff/Recharge
(48) Adjusted Targeting - Endurance/Recharge
Level 8: Mind Over Body
(A) Reactive Armor - Resistance
(21) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
(23) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
(39) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
Level 10: Indomitable Will
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
Level 12: Fast Healing
(A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
(25) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
(25) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
Level 14: Boxing
(A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
(27) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(42) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
(43) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
Level 16: Rise to the Challenge
(A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
(29) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
(29) Miracle - Heal/Endurance
(50) Miracle - Heal
Level 18: Burst
(A) Cleaving Blow - Damage/Endurance
(31) Cleaving Blow - Accuracy/Recharge
(31) Cleaving Blow - Damage/Recharge
(31) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(33) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(33) Eradication - Damage/Recharge
Level 20: Quick Recovery
(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(33) Performance Shifter - EndMod
(34) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
Level 22: Tough
(A) Reactive Armor - Resistance
(34) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance
(34) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Recharge
(43) Reactive Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
Level 24: Weave
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
Level 26: Maneuvers
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
Level 28: Heightened Senses
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
Level 30: Combat Jumping
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
Level 32: Concentrated Strike
(A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
(37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
(37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
(37) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(39) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(39) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
Level 35: Focused Accuracy
(A) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff/Recharge
(40) Rectified Reticle - To Hit Buff
(40) Endurance Reduction IO
(48) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
Level 38: Strength of Will
(A) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
(50) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
Level 41: Physical Perfection
(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(42) Endurance Modification IO
(42) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration
(45) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
(50) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
Level 44: Assault
(A) Endurance Reduction IO
Level 47: Stealth
(A) Empty
Level 49: Super Jump
(A) Winter's Gift - Slow Resistance (20%)
------------
Level 2: Swift
(A) Run Speed IO
Level 2: Health
(A) Healing IO
(46) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
(46) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
Level 2: Hurdle
(A) Empty
Level 2: Stamina
(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(45) Performance Shifter - EndMod
(45) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
Level 1: Brawl
(A) Empty
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 1: Sprint
(A) Celerity - +Stealth
Level 2: Rest
(A) Empty
Level 4: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonus Totals:
2% DamageBuff(Smashing)
2% DamageBuff(Lethal)
2% DamageBuff(Fire)
2% DamageBuff(Cold)
2% DamageBuff(Energy)
2% DamageBuff(Negative)
2% DamageBuff(Toxic)
2% DamageBuff(Psionic)
28% Defense(Smashing)
28% Defense(Lethal)
3% Defense(Fire)
3% Defense(Cold)
9.88% Defense(Energy)
9.88% Defense(Negative)
3% Defense(Psionic)
15.5% Defense(Melee)
6.44% Defense(Ranged)
3% Defense(AoE)
1.8% Max End
37.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
10% FlySpeed
205.8 HP (15.37%) HitPoints
10% JumpHeight
10% JumpSpeed
MezResist(Immobilize) 29.15%
20% Perception
7.5% (0.13 End/sec) Recovery
116% (6.47 HP/sec) Regeneration
20% ResEffect(FlySpeed)
20% ResEffect(RechargeTime)
20% ResEffect(RunSpeed)
10% RunSpeed -
Can we go into some more details about which conversion ratio makes sense?
Different poster here with a similar problem - I have my Tier 1 Alpha, Judgement, and Destiny.
Lore is unlocked. I soloed to 50, and have done a few trials (thus the unlocking) but pretty much no TFs (I'm red side, fewer options, plus I'm not on all that much so the time for a TF is hard to come by at the same time a TF is forming).
I now have basically (from memory)
0 shards (might have 1 or 2)
20-some threads
50 some Astral Merits
5-10 Empyrion Merits
In the non-BAF trials I'm really feeling the lack of Level shift. I'm currently running Cardiac, but I've found that first Cardiac does all I need on my Brute, so long-term I think the t4 Musculature that gives me 33% End discount as well looks perfect. I slapped together the T1 Musculature from shards (which is why I'm out). But what now?
I can see I have to run the MK SF to get the Notice of the Well for t3. Outside of that, what's the most efficient way of getting t4 _FOR MY SITUATION_? Currently I'm looking at grinding out some BAFs and trading Astral to Shards and building the pieces from there.
Or is this a case of "Do MK and you'll have all the shards you need, no other TFs or conversion needed"? or are Astral Merits something you should treasure to get threads?
To give you an idea, In about 3 weeks of playing I've done...4-5 BAFs, 2 LAMs, and 1 failed-at-AV UGT. I expect my free time will not increase notably above this rate.
Thanks in advance! -
I do think we're missing the original point of the OP:
The Empower and Weaken combos both have a primary benefit: Making the enemies easier to hit. However, you need to land a series of hits in a row to pull them off, thus showing you won't really benefit from the combos. (Empower does provide a +dmg, which will help, but the foe -Def and the Self +to-hit is a bit redundant if you were able to land the series).
If they were Foe -Res, Slow, -Recharge, -Regen, etc, there'd be some logical sense, but "I need to hit you three times to make you easier to hit" doesn't sound like you need the benefit.
(We can also argue about whether the benefits are too small to matter, but I wanted to restate the OP and not get lost in Spectral land) -
Quote:Thanks, that gives me something to work towards.Originally Posted by Vauluur
Honestly, you want to shoot for at least low 30s for S/L/E/N defense.
"Of course" implies I know that. There's a lot of sets out there and I'm hardly familiar with how it all works. Playing with Mids is done in the same limited free time in which I'd be playing in CoX, so your advice and summary are what I'm looking for.Quote:Your resistance is, of course, harder to improve with IO bonuses.
I'll try to get that up, but what I need more than a specific build is general advice on how to approach things. Saying "you can expect to get 10% Def out of Set bonuses, but more is stretching it" is a lot more useful/interesting (to me at least) than a specific build.Quote:If you could post your build, that would help with trying to give you what you're looking for.
Working on it, but my limited free time (I usually can't get all 5 tips done in a session and I don't have time for a session every night) means the accumulation is slow. That's likely how I'll grab a couple of LOTGs, but I also want to plan for the build I can get now, not just the one I can get in 3 months.Quote:If you are soloing a lot, you should run some tip missions and get A-merits.
Much appreciated! I'll try to dissect it and see how it works. Any comments on how you approached it are worth their weight in gold as well! For example, WP appears to be Regen/Resist based set, so Def is lower than Def sets. It sounds like you're saying I should be trying to pull the Def numbers up anyway. If you say "Try to four-slot this set for the bonuses, not for the power", that will inspire an "ah-ha" from me. Saying "Skipping the cone power in KM is just plain dumb" is also a tip. "Combat Jumping is essential for Def - skip it at your peril", etc. So far I'm just guessing, and playing in Mids for a few dozen hours could teach me, but that's time I'm not in game.Quote:I will try to spend a few minutes cobbling together an example for you of something I might try to build for a KM/WP.
Thanks! -
I have an existing 50 DM/DA Brute that I've been a bit underwhelmed by. In contrast, I'm (mainly solo) leveling a KM/WP Scrapper and it's been quite potent. I want to explore this concept of a high melee damage, single target toon. I just hit 40, finished my Patron Pool arc so I got a respec, and I'm looking to tweak my build but have a few questions:
* Resurgence - Is it worth having? I'm cruising about at +2/x1 and when I actually hit an enemy that takes me down (*grumblegrumble*Malta Sapper*grumble*) Resurgence is just a good way to drop back to the ground in 20 seconds, and the rest of the time I'm alive and not needing it. Soul Drain on my brute works well enough, though it's tricky to get enough toggles back on, but Resurgence just doesn't seem to compete. My build is already tight on power choices...
* Pool Toggles. So far I'm VERY focused on single Target high melee damage. I've got one AOE. I have the short ranged KM power but I'm looking to drop it. I haven't even tried the cone KB. With this kind of focus I've got power choices to spare, so I've currently got Tough, Weave, Maneuvers, Assault, and Combat Jumping in my build plan. (Suddenly, power choices are tight). With the Regen/Recovery I'm planning, that's not a problem Endurance-wise, but it's a lot of toggles. Is this worth while?
* I'm currently looking at Body Mastery with Focused Accuracy and Physical Perfection (I want Auto powers and toggles over short-term buffs - Power Siphon and Strength of Will are enough). This should give me awesome regen and recovery - both of which I've enjoyed on the toon so far without those, but I'd be happy with more and bumping up to +3/x1 or +2/x2 The bonus accuracy should let me frankenslot for damage/end/rech well. Is there a huge flaw in my plan?
* Defense/Resistance levels. With Common IOs this gets me mid 20 defense and resistances in the 30s (save for Smashing, which hits the soft cap), and that's with Tough/Weave/Maneuvers/Combat Jumping. I read on here that people have no problems hitting the soft cap in Defense, but I just don't see how that's doable without gimping the build in other ways. I only have about 250 mil saved up for IOs. What is a reasonable target to go for?
* Musculature Alpha. My Brute currently has Cardiac, but I'd much prefer to get more bang in my bang, as it were. I _think_ my plan would allow for that (I project regen/sec almost 2 above my use/sec).
* Nasty enemies. I've was cruising through my stuff, with +2/x1 being pretty easy save for the occasional EBs, when the Patron arc had me hit Malta. A sapper basically one-shots my end bar if he hits. Now I'm worried about the carnies that lie ahead in my future. Is there a secret to surviving these that I've not considered? (So far a purp or two and hitting the sapper first mostly works, but that's a lot of effort on a minion, and carnies will be far more rough on the end)
* Trials and TFs. Right now I'm soloing, but I plan to get into Trials once I hit 50. Does my Melee ST damage with no real control options plan have a vital flaw in that environment? I've only done a few BAFs and a LAM or two on my Brute, and I've not seen a big issue there for this character...
* Teleport. I'd like to get TP on the character (for flavor/feel/different than my other Brutes), but that would mean dropping Hasten or CJ. Recommendations?
On the whole I'm enjoying the toon. I'm not a serious enough player, nor have enough Inf, to seek out how to trick him out to be all powerful, nor do I enjoy battling lag and indecision to master how to juggle 10 different power options that let me handle anything. I'm just looking to have something fun and effective, where finding enemies and managing my attack chain is the primary thought involved.
Thanks in advance! -
1) Did my first Rikti Mothership Raid last night. What a slideshow. What I saw was:
* travel about killing pylons.
* I hear something about vents. No idea where this was
* gather at center bowl on top of ship and fight
* Fight GM on top of ship
* fight for a really long time (I hear something about bombs)
* Shields come back up and we're done.
Clearly I missed some things. Can anyone fill me in?
2) Did my first Lambda last night. During the smash and grab phase...I got lost. We go downstairs, start fighting a spawn...and a few moments later I'm by myself. I try to run around the map to find things, but all I find are many, many mobs, all aggroing on me. The wiki talks all about crates and not about the mobs or movement. Can someone give me a tip on the detailed strat here?
3) Did a few BAFs in the last few nights. These worked great (except that so many want to camp the doors instead of chokes, yet say nothing about it when the leader says we'll be using chokes, then fail to do chokes ). However, in the NS & Siege battle, how are people checking to compare their health? I wrote two macros to target each after my last run, but I'm not sure if that's the right technique.
-
Update from the Original Poster:
First, thank you for explaining how the character slots work if you go preemie from VIP...all I could find on the websites was what's allowed, not how it handles things that are no longer allowed.
Second, now that I've tinkered a bit and interacted with the Free players, I want to offer NCSoft some props. It seems like they are really targeting the game to be usable and interesting for free, solid for Premiums, and just trying to get you interested enough for a VIP to be worthwhile, as opposed to making the game "force" you to subscribe. Compared to a lot of other "FTP" approaches in the non-MMO world, this was really nice.
I've now done a few DFBs and a couple of BAFs.
I found joining the big channels on the server to open a whole new world of offers. While finding an op to get unsilenced has been mostly unsuccessful, I can still see the groups forming and get involved. This has made a huge difference to problem #1: Finding a group without waiting hours.
I love the format of using cutscenes to layout the background and the "radio" prompts to give background/instructions. This avoids the "rush, rush, no time for appreciation or guidance" issue, while not really delaying things by very much. The status boxes (e.g. "0/11 left" or "1:34 remaining") are also awesome. The big warning text on event changes is likewise great. Having maps that aren't chaotic messes filled with trash also improves things.
Compared with the few TFs I've done, or the Villain Treespec, the new Trials are friendly to new players and quite accessible. While there are still a few gotchas (Thanks for the warning about the bubbles with the hydra - I'm not sure I'd have figured it out as actually avoidable as quickly if you hadn't warned me) - having a leader that recognizes that you're new and gives a few prompts is still awesome. (My props to NullValue on Liberty, who was a kind and successful leader on BAF) Heck, even the hospital in BAF is convenient!
Reading the Wiki was helpful, but mainly because it let more click when someone gave me hints in game. Things like "you'll get a circle for each warning of suppression" doesn't really prepare you for when it happens. (BTW, for my fellow BAF-newbs - it's VERY obvious) Reading it all was a lot to take in and remember, but when my guide said "fall back if you get a circle" it let me go "oh, I can fall back and kill adds until it fades".
I'll also say it fared well compared to my limited experiences with That-Other-Game, where the few raids I was in tended to smite-or-wipe. My first BAF was very successful, the second where they were going for more badges had NightStar rez no fewer than 3 times and had the adds on Seige get out of hand. Some 6 trips to the hospital for me and members of my "team" later we were able to regain control and come back to complete it (no success on the badges, but I got 29% Judgement after the first run and was up to 76% after the second). To have a long fight where we can be clearly "losing" and be able to readjust and come back to "winning" WITHOUT being an elite crew of people who dedicate themselves to the game made it really enjoyable.
Of vast importance to me was the fact that this didn't take an inordinate amount of time. Sure, there was 10 minutes of initial grouping time. But there wasn't a maze full of trash to defeat, there wasn't zoning between contacts for no real reason. There wasn't an hour or more of standing around waiting for the raid to assemble.
There's still room for improvement. The LFG tab would be a truly awesome idea if everyone didn't prefer to group up beforehand. I've played this for game for years and never knew that the global channels were significant at all. A few UI additions (being able to toggle between a few select targets) would make certain tasks easier on the newbie. The resulting rewards are dizzyingly incomprehensible. (I was alpha slotted so I understood shards...Now I have threads, different components, and two kinds of Merits!) And while the new format and direction for Trials is great, there are still few of them, leaving me dreading the TFs I will need to run to finish out my currently-commonly-slotted-alpha.
On the whole though, I highly enjoyed myself and look forward to finding the time to do more. The experience was more accessible than I thought once I found the global channel. -
So I've come back after a while off...Wow! Combined markets (world didn't seem to end), red-side/blue-side (still no world ending), early level travel powers (I still ghetto travel until my 20s), and now Free to Play (all the servers are yellow!). We can even Walk!
As someone that can't guarantee if I can play for hours or minutes and who hates feeling stupid, I've usually soloed a ton. This time, with the encouragement of the helpful Help channel, I've not only one, but two different task forces (Synapse twice and posi, I think) AND did my first time braving of a PvP zone to snag a Shivan. Thanks to Falafel_Cone, Lightstarr, and Suede on Liberty.
This is also my first real shot at a hero character, I always found red-side friendlier with more compact zones and missions that didn't send you hither and yon as much. Blue side zones are still confusing (what do you mean I can't get there from here?) but the newer missions and combined rail lines are far nicer and made it not too bad.
TF questions:
1) I've noticed a lot of chatter on Help announcing DFBs and a handful of TF/SFs. Great to see red-side life as well. Is Help really the place to find these? My efforts to find a mission team tended not to succeed quickly, though it wasn't hard to join a TF that someone else was building. Since I can't usually commit to a 2 hour block, missions teams have less commitment and would thus be more interesting (though I do intend to try a few more TFs)
2) While I've no desire to rerun or reset a lot, I would like to try a DFB. Any warnings I should know about?
3) MMs still get injured (well, the team gets injured) when teammates don't understand that we can't just fly around to the different spots on an outdoor map, or short-range TP is a bad idea. Is this a common problem?
4) I used to love guides. I'd read them and weigh their descriptions of how a power is or is not useful and the hidden tidbits that the numbers don't give. It seems the last few years that guides are fewer and focus more on Mid's slotting than explaining these things. Am I just yearning for a past that won't return?
5) Did performance increase? It seems I spend less time on loading screens and have fewer slide shows, though I've not gone through a Rikti invasion lately. Meanwhile, I'm running on the same comp...
6) One reason I've often skipped TFs is that I never learn the story or what's going on. Someone suggest I read the Clues while on the mission (not really sure when that downtime would be). Is that the best way to know what's going on?
7) The other reason I've skipped TFs is my only previous attempt was a Villain Respec Trial with the frickin Tentacles. Apparently I have horrible understanding of 3-d space in-game and would always get one-shotted by the thing in the center because I didn't understand where I was relative to it. Was this just a non-standard example of what to expect? The descriptions I've read of Hamis, the new Seed event, or the Incarnate Trials all lead me to expect similar confusion and insta-dead. Am I wrong?
8) I am VIP, having been a subscriber from before and never playing without being a current subscriber. If I drop my subscription, what happens with my full load of characters, including those of restricted ATs or powersets?
9) As someone that tends to pop on, play for a few months, and then vanish for a year or more, not paying a subscription is appealing. Ideally, as soon as I get to feeling I'm done
for a while, I'd stop paying. Then, when the itch returns, I log in and play a bit, and if it's truly what I'm interested in, I'd re-subscribe, and if it really wasn't quite time, I'd wait a bit longer with no impact to my wallet. Is this a workable plan?
Thanks all! -
My wishlist:
* Vault interface to work like Salvage storage
* Salvage/Enhancement storage that sorts
* Able to modify SG ranks of offline members
* Replace the (Origin/Archetype) symbols with (Powerset/Powerset/Archetype) symbols
* Remote Auction interface that doesn't take 7 years to get
* More missions with choices (Love the recent missions, want more like them or even better)
* Nemesis system (if we can't customize yet, then have missions that rotate through internal ones like the bank mayhems do)
* Attach multiple items to an email or remove the 15 sec delay. -
Quote:Inflation is a given, where goods are created "for free". I don't consider that a problem of the market.Originally Posted by Yorukira
But how would you balance the market to eliminate inflation and many other situation it have?
BUT, there are a few things I'd like to see:
1) Move all IOs to divisible by 5 levels. No more level 37 or 49, treat them all like the common IOs: 30,35,40,45, 50, etc. This will pool the existing supply, making competition and comparison easier, not to mention removing a lot of "this hasn't sold in 3 months, so I won't put mine up for sale, so there are none for sale, so no one will waste a slot on a standing bid, so...".
2) More information. What if instead of seeing 5 single bids, you saw both the last 5 different prices, and the 5 most used prices with a count of how many there had been (perhaps within a recent time range). Or any of a number of other systems.
Basically, when I as a casual player hit the market and see Alchemical Silvers selling for 200k each, I _know_ that I can either decide it's worth it, or pop down to the appropriate level range and grind out my own. What I don't know is whether filling a market slot with, say, a 100k bid and waiting until Tuesday is likely to work. I don't know that because I'm not on the market enough to know what's "normal", and the last 5 certainly doesn't give me "normal". So is paying 200k a sign of impatience, or what's to be expected? Those that do a lot at the market know the answer. The casual player doesn't.
Better information on "the norm" would encourage competition because if I play once/week, I might be willing to drop a bid and wait, but I don't want to drop a bid on EVERYTHING interesting, because I have limited market slots and I won't be on again until next week so I can't take advantage of anything that is fulfilled tomorrow.
I understand that "the norm" isn't going to stay stable, but I think more info than we have will reduce the chaos while still allowing people to be impatient and get what they want for a big price. When I'm impatient (and that's often, when I'm on) I don't mind paying extra for convenience. It'd just be nice to know IF I'm paying extra for convenience, or actually getting a good deal. I suspect this lack of knowing what is normal is what causes a lot of people to avoid the Market entirely.
3) Merge redside/blueside
Oh, they did this. And I love it. -
I plan to use double XP to make progress on my SoA, currently at level 20.
Looking ahead, I see that Crabs are generally celebrated for better AoE damage and survivability, while Banes are better ST damage. Both can offer great Team buffs and neither have huge weaknesses.
I already have a Brute, so a melee-er doesn't exactly thrill me. The "Huntsman" crowd sounds interesting, but I do like the idea of AoE damage, and I'm not a great player so survivability sounds good too.
One thing I've not heard about is how critical the pets are (particularly to the Crab). I don't tend to like pets that don't obey (heck, my MM's pets aren't obedient enough!), and I like order and structure and pets don't tend to be that. (I think - outside of my MM I don't tend to HAVE pets aside from the aggro magnets missions get me).
Anyway, is skipping pets on any of the Bane/Crab builds gimping their performance? -
Quote:Coffee's more than $2....inflation, ya know...Originally Posted by Yomo_Kimyata
that opinion and $2 gets you a cup of coffee at your favorite local chain.
-
Okay, after way too much time spent learning how to use Mid's and exploring the various IO sets out there, here is the build I'm looking at.
Note this is without purples - getting this much will break my bank as it is.
Some specific notes:
- As discussed above, I dropped Cloak of Fear and picked up Death Shroud. I was able to keep Maneuvers. This build is very similar to Nalrok's, with a few changes:
- I didn't max out Recharge time as much as he did - I'm going for more mitigation through defense and more damage through Death Shroud.
- I've gotten two Knockback Resistance IOs instead of just 1. Mag 4 seemed low.
- I didn't stick as many slots into the armors (since I wasn't going for Reactive armor's recharge bonus) nor Soul Transfer (while it's awesome, I'd rather put utility into powers I'll hopefully use more often).
- I did end up sticking Hasten into the build. I'm hoping that Soul Drain and Dark Consumption will be regularly cycling and feeding into my destructive impulses.
- In this build I end up using 2.13 end/sec in toggles (With DN up) and getting back 3.15/sec, not counting procs from Perf. Shifter and Theft of Essence (which is in both Siphon Life and Dark Regen)
While I'm not hitting the "soft cap" on defense, I figure this, stacked with the impact of Darkest Night and lingering effects of Dark Obliteration, should keep most enemies whiffing.
My concerns are:
* I'm a bit overloaded on Accuracy (+59%), except for Soul Drain (which will give me quite a bit more). I'm sure there's a smarter balance to achieve, but at least I won't miss.
* I've no damage enhancement on Gloom and Dark Obliteration, milking both for the large defense bonus from Siphon Insight, nor Midnight Grasp (again, a big defense bonus from Enfeebled operation). I'm worried I might be cutting my big DPS items in favor of defense.
Commentary welcome!
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Murderous Mime: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Dark Melee
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Shadow Punch- (A) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (3) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (3) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (5) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (5) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (A) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
- (29) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
- (A) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
- (7) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
- (7) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
- (9) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (9) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage
- (11) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Endurance
- (11) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge
- (13) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Recharge
- (13) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (A) Defense Buff IO
- (A) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance
- (15) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
- (15) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
- (17) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
- (17) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- (19) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Steadfast Protection - Knockback Protection
- (36) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
- (A) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
- (27) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
- (A) Winter's Gift - Slow Resistance (20%)
- (A) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance
- (19) Touch of the Nictus - Heal/HitPoints/Regeneration/Recharge
- (21) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Heal/HitPoints/Regeneration
- (21) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
- (23) Harmonized Healing - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
- (23) Harmonized Healing - Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
- (25) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
- (25) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge
- (27) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (39) HamiO:Cytoskeleton Exposure
- (46) Karma - Knockback Protection
- (A) Empty
- (A) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
- (37) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
- (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
- (29) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
- (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
- (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
- (31) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
- (33) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
- (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (33) Multi Strike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- (33) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Endurance
- (34) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage
- (34) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage
- (34) Scirocco's Dervish - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
- (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
- (37) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
- (40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
- (A) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Recharge
- (40) Enfeebled Operation - Endurance/Immobilize
- (40) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Endurance
- (42) Enfeebled Operation - Immobilize/Range
- (42) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge
- (42) Enfeebled Operation - Accuracy/Immobilize
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
- (50) Recharge Reduction IO
- (A) Stupefy - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
- (46) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
- (A) Siphon Insight - ToHit Debuff
- (43) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/ToHit Debuff
- (43) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Recharge
- (43) Siphon Insight - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
- (46) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
- (45) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
- (45) Dark Watcher's Despair - Recharge/Endurance
- (45) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
- (A) Siphon Insight - ToHit Debuff
- (48) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/ToHit Debuff
- (48) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Recharge
- (48) Siphon Insight - ToHit Debuff/Endurance/Recharge
- (50) Siphon Insight - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
- (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- (50) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
Level 1: Brawl- (A) Empty
- (A) Celerity - +Stealth
- (A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift- (A) Run Speed IO
- (A) Jumping IO
- (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
- (39) Miracle - +Recovery
- (A) Endurance Modification IO
- (36) Performance Shifter - EndMod
- (39) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
Set Bonus Totals:- 2.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
- 2.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
- 19.56% Defense(Smashing)
- 19.56% Defense(Lethal)
- 5.813% Defense(Fire)
- 5.813% Defense(Cold)
- 4.25% Defense(Energy)
- 4.25% Defense(Negative)
- 3% Defense(Psionic)
- 15.5% Defense(Melee)
- 5.5% Defense(Ranged)
- 8.625% Defense(AoE)
- 33.75% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
- 59% Enhancement(Accuracy)
- 3% Enhancement(Immobilize)
- 23% FlySpeed
- 168.67 HP (11.25%) HitPoints
- 23% JumpHeight
- 23% JumpSpeed
- Knockback (Mag -8)
- Knockup (Mag -8)
- MezResist(Immobilize) 7.15%
- 17.5% (0.292 End/sec) Recovery
- 40% (2.503 HP/sec) Regeneration
- 20% ResEffect(FlySpeed)
- 20% ResEffect(RechargeTime)
- 20% ResEffect(RunSpeed)
- 8.125% Resistance(Negative)
- 23% RunSpeed
- 4% XPDebtProtection
-
Quote:Sorry, I communicated poorly:Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
There won't be any hard-hitting mobs attacking after Soul Transfer provided the power hit the entire spawn that took you out.
AMONG the wandering mobs are some hard hitting ones that helped drop me in the first place (and they will be the first to recover, due to how mag works...with EBs I have only a few seconds). What are my priorities? Getting some toggles back up?(which?) Piling on some damage to the stunned guys? DN on someone? -
Nalrok, thanks so much for the details. I will study deeply.
Quote:You've taken Touch of Fear. While I understand the high -to-hit on the attack, I expect to be in big spawns all the time, so the -to-hit is only useful on my immediate target who should soon be dead (though it will take more time if I'm using a non-damaging attack).Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
Anything else that might need some clarification?
Is this only used for big-bosses (EB/AV)? -
Thanks for the feedback all, I've summarized my responses below:
Quote:Well you aren't likely to be more wrong than I amI can take a stab at some of your questions, but I'm by no means an expert As a casual player I'm ignorant of a lot of details, so every bit helps.
Last night I tinkered with my graphics settings and moved to +0/x3, which has proven challenging but doable. Got several bubbles in a couple of hours last night and hope to hit 46 soon, and then the mythical 47 and my respec.
DN definitely HELPS, but by itself it isn't getting me into that lovely "don't get hit" territory. (/me is jealous of the Dark Armor can't tank video) And currently (pre-respec) I'm dying of end starvation. It's not too bad - I rarely take a knee - but I do have a bit of a blue pill addiction, and if I get overzealous my toggles drop and then everything goes black. (until I hit Soul Transfer)Quote:Based on all that, it seems you may be better off going for a +Rchg build and using your Darkest Night toggle to keep from getting hit. I'm planning on the Soul APP myself just to get DN so that I can do this as well.
Recharge is unanimous among the comments, so I'll work Hasten into the Build. I'll drop Cloak of Fear, which will also free up a few slots. That should help with the End, and Cloak will be of reduced benefit once I swap in Death Shroud anyway. I do lose the PBAOE -to-hit though.
That won't help me with the set interactions, which are somewhat needed - without those I fall down from end loss and am missing a good chunk of Defense.Quote:As for the attacks: You could do a character copy over to the test server, do the respec on the test server, and try the build out there. That will let you decide if making the changes you're indicating will be viable or not for your playstyle.
That is _great_ info to have, thank you. Now I have a reasonable target to shoot for that I can adjust with experience.Quote:End/Toggles: I've read somewhere that you should aim for as close to 1/sec end use and at least a 1/sec differential between recovery and useage. You're only looking at a 0.6/sec differential as of now - it seems your toggles don't have hardly any EndRedux in them at all if you're using 2.2 end/sec. I think that's going to be an issue, but again the test server respec could give you a better idea.
Okay, so those are similar numbers to mine (I still like the idea of Maneuvers if I can manage it, but we will have to see).Quote:Defense: I run Weave, Cloak of Darkness and... set bonuses. I stack Darkest Night atop that and survive quite well sitting at 15.1% defense, the equivalent of a small purple.
I can't count on Incarnate stuff yet, but it sounds like my numbers aren't terrible, if I take Tough.Quote:Resistance: You're looking at the resistances you get. With Tough, you'll be able to bump up your S/L resistance. I slotted the Cardiac Radial Alpha, and with that and IO's my current resistances are 56% S/L, 62% Psi, 48% Toxic/Neg, and 42% everything else.
I don't have nearly that level of rechargeQuote:Offense: You can afford to 5-slot your attacks with the exceptions of Soul Drain, Siphon Life and Midnight Grasp. I'm going to do my best to get my build to you, as I have Hasten, Fighting, my Travel Power and 50% global recharge. but the rest makes sense.
Compared to your build from your guide, I'm looking to slot Death Shroud more and the armors less.
Yeah, I really do spend my fights nervously watching for Dark Consumption to recharge (because I can't really afford Dark Regen more than once without it), and Soul Drain is my other favorite. Having the three up every fight would make a huge difference, so Hasten is in.Quote:Remember this: If it can't kill you in the time it takes Dark Regeneration to recharge, it can't kill you. If it CAN kill you, it has to kill you twice.
Since going to /x3 I've found I ST a lot more useful - Nothing like avoiding a run back through the map. I do have a few questions:Quote:Soul Transfer is a godsend to this combo due to low resistances, but with high recharge you may not need to worry about using it unless you find yourself against something nasty (Nemesis, Romans, Rularuu).
* Immediately following ST, I have a bunch of wandering mobs, often a hard-hitting mob or two, and no toggles up. What should I prioritize (aside from Obsidian Shield)?
* You list some "nasty" groups, which is solid info I don't have. Currently I've found I suffer at the hands of Carnies and Malta the most, because of the end-drain. EBs are rough (Positron wiped the floor with me a few times), either because I have no staying power or because they hit HARD (Positron was hard, Battle Valkyrie wasn't). That Tip mission where I fight a number of Miss Thystles is challenging because I have problems keeping up the DPS without blowing my blue bar away, but I feel I'm close to having it be an amusing cakewalk. Romans hit hard enough that I've avoided their missions for the last couple of levels, but at the x2 level I was able to drop the engineers quickly enough to avoid getting my acc tanked. What should I look out for in the future?
Along with Hasten, this is now in the build.Quote:I would take tough.
I see no Shadow Maul in your list. Is there a reason?Quote:As far as single-target attack chain is concerned, the crucial attacks are smite, siphon life, and midnight grasp. You probably need shadow punch unless your recharge rate is very high. I would slot up gloom and incorporate it into your attack chain. The resultant attack chain with shadow punch, smite, siphon life, midnight grasp, and gloom should be smooth regardless of your recharge. Boxing and air superiority are not essential, but boxing is typically used as a set mule.
More great info, I really appreciate the comments. I'm looking at dropping Cloak of Fear and keeping Maneuvers (more endurance, more slots). Criticism of this choice welcome. Either way I need to improve the recovery.Quote:Typical attack chain uses around 4 to 6 end per second without endurance reduction slotting. Unless you're fighting an AV that takes a long time to beat, it is not necessary to make a build that can sustain fighting indefinitely. On the other hand, a net recovery of 0.6 end/sec is a bit low even with dark consumption. I suggest you to drop maneuvers, and work a bit for higher recovery. Alpha slot should help here as well.
A new question for any and all:
* What are some common good things to look at in sets? In another thread someone suggested I get Crushing Impact up to the Acc bonus, and Theft of Essence: +End, all of which looks good and I've snagged but not yet slotted. I've got a +Chance for Build Up for Soul Drain. I'm planning on grabbing a Knockback protection or two (should I get two?), and the Steadfast +3 Defense is on my desired list. Pretties like Numinas and Miracles will likely take a bit longer, as I'm up to a great big 2 Villain Merits and perhaps 100 Normal Merits and while the Crushing Impacts were cheap, the rest weren't and I've blown about a third of the Inf I've got already. -
Quote:I've read it - it's pre-inherent fitness, and doesn't address the questions I have here. It is a GREAT start, and I'd already PMed him for more a more current build, but I'm trying to understand more than "what powers should I take". I'm trying to understand WHY what I'm looking may or may not be any good. That will help me make smarter choices in the future.Originally Posted by VelRahn
This is a guide by Nalrok_AthZim on the D/D/D Brute:
http://tinyurl.com/24ul5bz
I'm sure he'll come in and offer any other advice, but that should get you started. -
My Dark/Dark/Dark brute is 45 and I'm planning for a respec at 47 to be my first character that I really IO out. (Though I have limited inf and no real stockpile of Merits, so my "IO out" is probably your "beginning use of sets")
Background: I mainly solo, never PvP, and my online free time is limited to a few hours/week. I enjoy the strategic timing of D/D where I have to pace my uses of Dark Regen and Dark Consumption, and pop inspirations when appropriate, but I don't have to sweat too much to kill something.
My current build is not optimal. I've read guides (most applicable are quite dated) and played in mids, but I still have a few questions, largely due to lack of experience with planning at this level.
Rather than just posting the build, I first want to ask general questions. Then I'll tweak the build with better understanding and post it for further critique.
Defense: I'm currently looking at upping my defense. This means Weave, Cloak of Darkness, and Maneuvers. Even slotting Combat Jumping for Defense. I'm currently looking at 19% defense. Since I'm also running Cloak of Fear and Darkest Night for -To-hit, I _think_ that'd give me a good effective defense, but I'd like to be sure before I commit.
Resistance: To save on Endurance and slots, I'm not looking at running Tough. Should I reconsider? That's a ~10% change in my S/L resistance. Aside from Psi and Toxic, I'm looking at resistances in the 30s. (Psi and toxic are int he 50s). But is that good?
Attacks: Running low on Slots, I'm looking at giving Gloom a token slot. I'm 6-slotting the basic 3 attacks along with Midnight Grasp. (not to mention the other useful powers). I'm ignoring Boxing. Will this too often leave me waiting for an attack to recharge? Likewise, my respec drops Air Superiority, which I used in my early levels a lot and now rely on every now and then to drop some annoying flier (I SJ). Will I miss it?
Toggles: I end up with Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud, Weave, Maneuvers, Cloak of Fear, Death Shroud, and Obsidian Shield. Mids is currently predicting recovery of 2.8/sec with toggle usage of 2.2/sec. (Not counting attacks nor +Endurance Procs nor Dark Consumption). I have no idea if this is a tolerable difference or if this represents a "rolling fury" kind of Brute.
Hasten: I have no Hasten in the Build. Currently I get by without it, with Soul Drain up about every other fight and Dark Consumption up every third or so, but I've been tempted. (Soul Drain every fight and DC almost as much sounds like heaven). It seems doubtful that I'd get enough +Recharge from the Sets I can afford to get similar impact without Hasten. Am I missing a massive performance increase?
Thanks in advance! -
I'm playing with the build of my Dark Armor Brute. Currently I'm using Cloak of Fear and not Death Shroud: I'm quite happy with the Fear effect and how it reduces incoming damage. I've avoided Oppressive Gloom because I don't want enemies wandering out of my PBAoE effects (who needs a pocket Fusionette?)
I've heard that Death Shroud, once slotted, is a great increase in damage, but I'm curious how it interacts with the Fear - is the Fear effect still useful or does the regular ticking of Death Shroud make CoF little more than a -To-hit?
Similarly, I'm pondering dropping damage procs into Cloak of Fear - Is this a terrible idea?
I'd love to know before I spend a respec and drop all my inf on various sets. -
I want to thank all of you for the comments. It will take me some time to put them into practice due to my limited free time, but I'm very much looking forward to it and you've given me some great feedback here. I welcome any more suggestions, either focused on my toons or my own playing.
To try and keep this sane I've replied to many posts here:
Quote:Many of the suggestions involve using IO Sets, which can certainly help (It's also a lot easier to get them now, versus when I last played - my chars had maybe 5Mil between them before, and I'm now sitting at roughly 300 mil total without doing much. Though I did have 3 purps drop over 3 tips missions, so perhaps I shouldn't get used to it).Originally Posted by Flower
Make sure you take Dark Regeneration when available and slot the Theft of Essence chance for endurance recovery in it, that is the best self heal power in the game and makes dark armor shine.
Really basic tips on the sets are good things (For example, I intend to immediately follow your Theft suggestion). Back when I last played there were guides for most things. Now when I look...I see the same guides, usually very out of date. I can't even find a KM/WP Scrapper guide of any sort. When I do find Guides, they tend to be more about high-end set slotting and less about power choice and leveling. This is sad. I even see a Stickied guide about which IOs are broken, but it's 2 years old. Are there any "commonly known" things about IO slotting that I should know? Places not to stick a Numina's, for example, or LOTG, or what's the "normal" slotting for Stamina?
For my MM, I've got keybinds, but I'm a bit lost on what to do with them. I basically Tankermind, so I've got Provoke, I keep my bots in bodyguard, and I use Provoke and my various controls to try and keep aggro at me...none of which involves keybinds. I'll occasionally try to get my pets to goto one spot or stay when I try to pull, but they seem to be a bit weak on obedience and ignore the command until they do whatever they were trying anyway. What orders should I be giving that the keybinds would help with? Basically I want my bots to stay in BG, so attack is rarely given. I tell them to move out of fire patches, but that's not really using the full flexibility.Quote:Master minds are tricky toons to play.
Normally x3 for the MM is fine. Mezzers kill me (Break Frees just don't last long enough, so a few battles can run me out.) I had one Tip with two Carnie Red bosses that helped me finish off a debt badge in the 10 tries before I gave up and dropped my settings. Maps where my guys scatter (Cave maps with multiple levels, for example) are also chaos.Quote:With your Dark/Bots MM in particular, a x3 group of any composition short of an EB or AV really shouldn't defeat you unless you are getting multiple spawns.
This may be required - I dropped down to "Minimum" settings last night and felt notably more in-control, and ran around outside of combat at 30-40 fps. (still at x2 though, and no idea of fps in combat). There was a bit of a cumulative effect - less slideshow meant I zoomed out more meant I had a better feel for what was going on. Of course I made some play changes too, and it was a bit distracting fight Longbow with half-faces (odd clipping)Quote:First of all, I would suggest biting the bullet and upgrading your hardware.
More like I'm clear on what I want to do, but it won't do it. Seems like slideshow is a big part of the issue. I also turned off the auto-attack Boxing on my Brute (left over from my last time around to build up Fury) and found my control much improved. I'm still having issues targeting. I already had target nearest enemy bound, but sometimes you want to target the next priority, and I seem to have a delay between hitting the button and having the targetting change, so I usually flip past the target by key, and the mouse seems to get caught on the targeting boxes of other enemies. Again, I think you're right and hardware will fix this.Quote:Second, I would work on playing around with your keybinds and control mapping. It sounds like you're doing a lot of reaching and scrambling to juggle your various options.
I will look into this, thanks.Quote:However, as others have mentioned, dark armor causes ridiculous amounts of graphics lag. It was so bad that I made some binds to turn off the display of effects when playing my dark/dark scrapper. There's a slash command for toggling the personal effects distance -- check out the Paragon Wiki for details.
Very helpful advice - I went from Boxing (auto), Air Superiority, Shadow Punch, Smite, Shadow Maul plus the odd Midnight Grasp and assorted situational powers to just the base 3 plus the situational and I feel much more in control.Quote:When in combat, don't rush. Because most powers have 1-3 second activation times, you really have a lot of time to figure out what you should do next. Some people have an attack chain that they grind through relentlessly, but I watch what's happening and often use an attack or power for a specific purpose rather following the sequence of the cast-in-concrete attack chain.
I'm currently using Acrobatics for that, but it seems with the new accessibility it's silly to give up a power slot to that instead of an IO or two. I'll keep that in mind when I respec, though I don't want to do that until I have a better idea of what to do (and planning a respec with sets uses the same limited time as playingQuote:You do, as mentioned, need KB protection or you'll spend 2/3 of every fight on your keester, )
I've currently got Cloak of Fear - though it appears to be working at a lower mag than some guides report, was it nerfed? I have an appreciation for Fear from my /Dark MM. Previously I wasn't using it, saving it only for when I knew I'd be dealing with multiple spawns (after all, fear means less fury, right?) but I tried it with it on all fights last night and it seemed to do a decent job of reducing incoming damage. With the new Fury curve I'm content (currently running about 130% damage bonus average at x2, without any set bonuses). CoF will be less useful, I assume, with Death Shroud. I'm leery of OG's health Drain + disorient though - I hate wandering enemies that won't melee. Given that I have CJ + Weave, I might try to squeeze Maneuvers and Cloak of Darkness into my build in place of OG and have some decent Defense -- But then I've never been able to translate Arcanaville numbers into reality - does 10-20% defense give any benefit?Quote:I used two toggles- Oppressive Gloom and Death Shroud- and decided that the fear was worthless.
So you recommend frankenslotting for effect over trying to set bonuses on this one?Quote:Death Shroud need six slots and clever invention use- you want 95% damage, 80-95% end reduction and some accuracy, or it will drain your blue bar dry.
I currently do, if only because it recharges a lot faster and spares the end bill (and Dark Consumption takes even longer to recharge).Quote:I don't know if you even need Siphon Life, really, but I'll leave that to the dark melee experts.
uh...my back of the envelope says that 5 Crushing Impact plus a frankenslot gives a pretty nice Acc/Dmg/End/Rchg plus set bonuses...does that sound right? I can fill a couple of my melee attacks that way and be quite content.Quote:I'd suggest investing in a single set (crushing impact or something) that gives you a +Accuracy bonus, because it's nice to have a little more free accuracy.
Should I bounce around targets to spread the -to-hit, or is it better just to pile it on the boss that would do the biggest hits? (This is often my key issue aside from graphics - KNOWING what tactics are good is a prerequisite to DOING such tactics).Quote:Tactics are: run in and hit bosses and lieutenants.
It certainly feels quicker than two seconds, but this is showing to be true. I do recall when I last played enjoying the feeling that the DM/DA Brute required some level of skill - I had to manage the Green, the Blue, and the Recharge times. I just want to have the requisite skill to play at a more difficult level.Quote:Your health will drop alarmingly in the first two seconds, then much more slowly, so you can hit the heal.