Synaesthetix

In this instance, I'm tempted to say it's a care of people being sore losers.

However, you will get level 50 toons who stock up to the gills with inspirations at frequent points during PvP, chug them all and proceed to lay into their level 20-something opponent - which, whilst being a valid tactic, seems more than a little cheap to me... not only is there an advantage in terms of Insp slots, but in ability to burn inf on them. In my eyes, PvP shouldn't be about how many inspirations you can chew your way through, but on player ability - or rather, it's Player vs Player, not Player vs Insps.

That said, careful and strategic use of existing insps is all part and parcel of good PvPing - I use only what I pick up (or get in bounty in SC), I do not go and stock up expressly for the purposes of taking out that Brute/Dominator/etc. That's where I draw my own line on the subject, anyway.

/e champagne


Bye Hobo.

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Take it
Love it
Caress it


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Take it home and call it George.

You and me both.

As Cybercel noted (provided we both wake up in time tomorrow ), you an count on the exemped services of Eir (Emp/En) and Synaesthetix (AR/Dev) - and this time round, I have Ignite to deal with the first [censored] wall.

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If you're lucky enough to team with a /Kinetics Corruptor with 3-slotted (EndMod) Speed Boost every single second of your gametime, ignore this, and get three-slotted Hasten on your Ice/Dark.

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Fixed.

I could still see the usefulness in Smoke Grenade with it's -Perception - but for one small problem... even with CD on, by the time you're close enough to use it, the enemy can still see you even after you've used it. >_>

If it worked like Arachnos Night Widow's SG - which confused the hell out of me the first time I saw it used (or didn't see, as it happens ) - I'd have it back in a flash. As it stands... little to no point in having it in a PvP situation, for my $.02.

Without numbers, and purely from experience - during the S4 tournament, I 6-slotted CD with DefBuff and 6-slotted Smoke Grenade with THDebuff on Test... and it made hardly a damned bit of difference. This was against attacks with a single acc enhancement in them, FYI.

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Well, not quite full but above 80% for an entire mission... /kin (SB) rocks

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Ahah, thought I felt my ears burning.

Can't help but think of Prof when I hear "Ice/Energy", though. The only other Ice/Energy Blaster I know by name is Freezypop (AKA: Frozen Rogue ), but I don't think he's SL 50 yet.

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Surely you only need Cryo armour if you're going to the PvP zones?

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Atreides needs all the help he can get.

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How does your opinion that ice/energy is bettter for fighting one build of scrapper (which the post is about) suddenly become the best pvp blapper archetype? personally i'd much rather face an ice/energy blaster with any character in the arena than elec/ or fire/energy

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Don't put words into my mouth. I never said it was the best all-round - I said it was FotM (Flavour of the Month), which it arguably is - much in the same way that Spines/Regen is the FotM PvP Scrapper build, so on and so forth.

Edit: But on that note, paging Seiche to the arena for a quick demo of why Ice/Energy is a feared build. *blows on his special Prof whistle*

Before we get into the thick of it, please note that under no circumstances am I saying that Elec/Energy cannot take down a Spines/Regen - I'm merely of the viewpoint that it's not the best suited powerset for the job.

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Snipe.
Tesla Cage.
Get in close for Energy Punch, Bonesmasher.
Power thrust.
Snipe again before opponent can get back up/use breakfree.

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Snipe
De-toggle Integration/melee damage
Power thrust/Hold
Snipe
Repeat if still alive.

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First things first - presuming that you'll be able to start with a snipe attack is presuming that you have the initiative from the outset - and not only that, but you have the conditions in which to execute it. That's all well and good, but it's an ideal situation, heavily weighted in favour of the Blaster - and not one you can rely on all (or even most) of the time, necessarily. Irrespective, Energy and Fire could both open with a Snipe attack anyway - and Sniper Blast has the chance of KB, which would work better in the given scenario than Zapp.

Secondly, firing off Tesla Cage before the toggle-drop occurs is probably inefficient - Blaster hold duration isn't worth much even slotted up. It's better off occuring after the detoggling, as Valens points out.

Now we get to the issue of Snipe post-Power Thrust, which is where we differ. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I'm Blapping, I work on a basis of redundancy - reducing the number of things that can go wrong in order to secure a quick drop. Throwing an interruptible attack into the middle of a combat situation has a number of potential drawbacks, especially if you're in a 'non-sterile' environment like Warburg; less so in the Arena. Regardless, in the time it takes to fire Zapp, the other powersets I listed could execute: (Fire) Fireblast + Blaze; (Energy) Power Blast + Power Burst; (Ice) Bitter Ice Blast + Ice Blast - all for higher DPS than Zapp. The benefit of Fire and Energy is that the second attack forces you to be close enough in, that you can cue up Energy Punch/Power Thrust directly afterwards. In the event that the first Power Thrust/Tesla Cage misses, Elec is left with a potential gap in the chain (at least in terms of maintaining a high DPS) whereas the other sets are not.

Even if you insist that damage isn't enough (Fire), and that KB isn't reliable (Energy), you must accept that there's nothing Elec can do against a Spines/Regen that Ice can't do better, and with the benefit of slows on top - there's a reason why Ice/Energy is the FotM PvP Blapper build, like it or not.

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Well it is the only primary with a Hold and a Snipe...

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... and how does this help you take down a Spines/Regen, exactly?

When you need to be up close and personal to do the damage - as we've already pretty much agreed you need to be - why do you need a snipe? The fact that Elec lacks a high-damage, non-interruptible attack is precisely what works against it, and for the other main primaries: Fire has Blaze, Ice has Bitter Ice Blast, and Energy has Power Burst. Hell, even Sonic has Shout. The time it takes you to fire off a Snipe is dead time that could be better used with another attack, or two - even if you slot for IntRed.

So, whilst having a Snipe and a Hold may be useful in general, in this instance it's of little to no use.

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I have also changed my mind on the best of the primaries, and yes, I do think it's Elec again (with fire coming in a close second). I do not like Ice, but I won't go into reasons for that here.

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I really don't see what you think Elec has going for it, as a primary - especially in this instance. Could you elucidate a little?

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-recharge, surely?

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Yeah, ignore any obvious errata - this is what happens when you try to cook and type.

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Could /elec not do this? Considering that they have more damaging melee attacks than /NRG.

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If they were exemped to level 28, */Elec would fare better. At level 50, Total Focus just rules all bets in favour of */Energy - though that's not to say that an Elec Blapper wouldn't stand any chance, it'd just be that iota more difficult.

(Aim, Build Up), Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Shocking Grasp, Thunder Strike - would be an effective combo - but you do give up Power Thrust in the process. That might not sound like much, but an unresistable KB can mean up to 2 free attacks, which can be all the difference.

FWIW, I think Ice/Elec would do better of all the Elec combos, with the synergy of holds, and the benefit of Ice's -Recharge, -Spd effects.

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Can this be true? I have a Rad/Rad and I've never noticed the end recharge factor in AB being THAT good.

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You wouldn't be going and confusing AB with AM, or vice versa, would you now?

My advice as a fellow /Sonic 'troller - don't take the shields, concentrate on the debuffs and control aspects, and Sonic Dispersion - which makes you that much less squishy. As a nod to teaming, I picked up Clarity (which is an awesome buff).

Oh, and slot Sonic Siphon to turn AVs into pussycats.

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Max pretty much nailed it

[/ QUOTE ]1800 posts and finally I get a sig-worthy quote

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If I'd have been fully awake, I might have capitalised your name correctly as well.

No ninja'ing here, you just need a new prescription in your lenses.

/Thermal doesn't have enough debuffs to work effectively, at least not until very late in the build - but I don't know how effective Heat Exhaustion and Melt Armor are against Regens, having not seen them in action.

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That all said, I've seen lone Corruptors completely neuter and crush Regens from range in one-on-one situations.

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Ice/Kin Corrupters for the win right?

They're incredibly annoying, that's for sure.

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Ice/ and Fire/Kin, and Ice/Dark, as it happens.

My bet is that */Cold and */Rad would be similarly daunting, but I haven't seen that with my own eyes as of yet.

In a one-on-one face-to-face fight, I'd say you could take your pick from Ice/Energy, Fire/Energy, and Energy/Energy - with Elec/Energy and Sonic/Energy being outsiders. At the end of the day, you'd need the damage from */Energy, regardless. The choice of primary would merely mean the employment of specific, differing tactics: Fire would be based on purely outdamaging the regen rate; Ice would be based on detoggle, hold, damage, repeat; Energy would be detoggle, knockback, damage, and hope that every KB attack hit. Elec has the possibility of holding, but lacks a high-damage, quick-firing primary attack; Sonics has the advantage of stacking -Res and some status effects including KB, but relatively long primary animation times.

All things considered, it would be player familiarity/ability with their build that would decide the victor.

Of course, the Wildcard Blaster victor against a Spines/Regen would be a */Dev Blaster with slotted Trip Mines, TP Foe... but that's hardly a standard fight.

That all said, I've seen lone Corruptors completely neuter and crush Regens from range in one-on-one situations.

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I took Char from flame mastery which is a great hold. Have you thought about taking that?

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Lest we not beat the donkey into a squishy mess by harping on about it... but as good as Epic Holds are, they aren't worth a damn against Regens if you lack a way to drop toggles.

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With regards time bomb. What do you mean "flexiable enough to get used to it" ? Are there only particular strategies that work with this power or...?

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Max pretty much nailed it, but I'll expound a little further.

Unlike any other attack in CoH, Time Bomb requires split-second timing to work - not just to work well, but to work at all. The long recharge makes it somewhat prohibitive to use wastefully, in addition. These are the ways in which I've used Time Bomb:

[*]Had Grant Invis/Group Invis cast on me, then moved into the centre of a big pack.
Place Time Bomb. At this point, you can either move to a safe distance and wait; or move into a coneable position (Flamethrower or Full Auto) and wait; or place an Auto Turret a short distance away then move into a safe position, or time it so that you place a Trip Mine just prior to the Time Bomb detonating.
The first option will leave many mobs on half-health-or-less, and all looking for you - sometimes this is manageable, sometimes not, depending on map layout.
The second option will allow you to pull the trigger just prior to the Time Bomb exploding - if you're good, this will result in a pile of dead mobs who haven't been able to fire back; if not, you'll end up with a lot of alpha-strikes coming your way.
The third option will allow you to create a diversion hopefully at the point where the TB explodes, allowing you to pick off the remaining mobs as you see fit.
The last option should drop most mobs - if they both hit at the right time. Most stragglers will be one-shottable/AoE fodder. This does leave you in the centre of X angry mobs, though.
[*]Pulling onto a bed of Trip Mines, Time Bomb, Caltrops.
Lay Trip Mines around a corner, garnish with Caltrops just behind the first line of Mines, place Time Bomb on this boundary. Countdown as appropriate, aggro the hell out of all the mobs around the corner, and nip behind and beyond the trap. Await fireworks display. Hope everything moves at the same time, instead of in single-file, thus completely screwing up your trap.
Alternatively, you can do pretty much the same thing to Bosses, with a variation - lay a Time Bomb, use Beanbag to pull, slap them with Taser as they round the corner onto the TB, then throw down Caltrops, Web Grenade, Web Grenade, then Ignite, Ignite, Ignite until TB explodes.
[*]Alpha Strike against high-HP mobs.
Lay down TB at beginning of fight, continue as normal. Semi-useful against some AVs, and the Eden Walls; timing is less important, although you/your teammates have to keep the AV near to the explosion. You do need teammates to make this work, preferably someone with the ability to control aggro away from you.
[*]TP Foe & Trip Mines & Time Bomb.
To be fair, I only really use this in PvP - and again, you have to time it perfectly. TP too soon and the TM detonates, knocking the foe out of effective TB range. TP too late, and the TB detonates too soon, and no damage is done. TP just right, and you have a surprised Tank on 1/3rd HP... the choice is yours. [/list]In honesty, there are probably more ways to use Time Bomb - I guess you could use it as reactor protection in Terra Volta, but TV's never been that much of a problem at the levels that Time Bomb was available, to me anyway.

In short, Time Bomb is all about the timing. If you can adapt to the constraints of being that precise about your gameplay, then go for it. Failing that, if you derive satisfaction from watching things go *BOOOOM*, with the ensuing Ragdoll confetti of bodies, go for it too.

At level 35, I err on the edge of not bothering with SS for 'Invis' - too many mobs see through SS+CD in the upcoming levels, and if you've made it that far you can probably live without it. Cloaking Device works well enough alone, just so long as you're aware of mob aggro ranges. Hasten is always handy, that said. For the mobs that exist that you might want to Invis in > Time Bomb > Trip Mine... it's just as quick to use your primary cones, 9 times out of 10.

TP Foe only really comes into play in PvP - although it is good for a laugh to break up the monotony of gameplay, I don't think you'll use it enough PvE.

I took Assault way back when, for the possibility of a way to boost damage given the lack of Build Up/Aim in AR/Dev... and it left me a little underawed, although it did help us struggle through the first wall of the Eden Trial in fairness. Not a dire choice, given it's a team buff - but not an awesome one.

Personally, in a purely PvE build, I'd plump for Taser. The bosses that you'll be encountering in the levels approaching the end game (Gunslingers, DRMs, Fake Nems) can be an utter pain unless you can disable them sufficiently - and Beanbag > Taser gives you a one-two punch with which to do so. With a few Recharges/DisDurs in those attacks, you can perma-mez most (if not all) bosses.

Re: Time Bomb - handy in a tight situation, if you're flexible enough to get used to it.