Talionis

The idea is to create a melee Kin that can function in melee range. Using Artic Air and Ice Slick for mitigation. What suggestions do yall have for playing this combonation. Which powers are skippable?

I really want to try to make Artic Air work for me. I think I want to do a concept, melee/melee-ish toon that uses Artic Air and Ice Slick as mitigation.

I know that Artic Air is a huge drain on Endurance, but I'll do my best to make it work.

I've been thinking:

Cold/Kin Controller -- This is the big one with "help" on endurance with Transference

Cold/Electric Dom

Cold/Fire Dom

Any other suggestions that might work? Which of these would be the best and why?

Scrappers are good solo characters from level one on. All the other characters are balanced in some way favoring play on teams. Its funny but it can be hard to get an AE invite for a team. Scrappers are just not as good at tanking difficult content, they don't last as long and they don't taunt as well. They don't do as much AoE damage as most blasters (Spines might be an exception). Scrapper control and buffs are few and far between. Scrappers make great filler because they hold their own. But they don't play a pivital team role. So I find that its hard to get picked up as a scrapper doing difficult content.

For the most part:

Blasters do more damage, but don't really have the defense to survive the aggro they create on large teams. So with Controllers controlling and Tanks taunting. Blasters can use their large AoE damage attacks to the best possible benefit. Also the Controllers and Defenders can often help keep their Nuke crashes to a minimum.

Tankers have disappointing damage numbers, but are very survivable. The bigger the team and the harder the content the more important having a tank that can taunt the aggro off of other players are more and more important.

Controllers are a super support archetype till they hit later levels and then they tend to be able to solo pretty well. They are next to impossible to solo at low levels because they burn through endurance with their holds and their damage is fairly low. Buffs and Debuffs are almost as good as Defenders. Containment helps with their damage at low levels and can make them unfair at high levels. They are the games great late bloomers. They are the most well rounded and bring the most to teams at late levels.

Defenders get their buffs and debuffs earlier than Controllers. So at low levels they are slightly better to get that synergy role going. Defenders don't have controls so they tend to focus a little more on buffing and debuffing. As the game goes on though they are mostly dwarfed by Controllers ability to control and thus provide themselves and the team mitigation. As well as containment, buffing and debuffing provides Controllers generally better late game damage dealing. Definately the more Defenders you have the better the team will be though. Defenders always make the best healers though.

I just want to say thanks. I'm so tired of having to figure out sk's and exemps to make things work. If you couldn't find just the right level people on at the same time it was so annoying.

Gravity has been one of those sets that's underperforming. Supposedly its a higher damage set, much like fire. The numbers don't bare that out. Its pet is low damage/high control. All the damage it does have is smashing damage which is highly resisted.

Gravity is an interesting set. Wormhole by itself is such a unique power that many people will play the set just for wormhole. But wormhole isn't enough to make the set perform quickly.

Gravity's signature visual power Propel underperforms to the point that many people don't take it or they respec out of it later.

Its fairly high damage, but it takes a ton of time for the animation to occur. There in lies the problem. On teams you are throwing forklifts at dead targets.

I think the easiest fix is to make the attack a fairly narrow cone like Nightfall. Keep the damage about the same or up it. And then otherwise leave it alone, recharge and endurance use. Just leave it alone. Gravity is under performing now. I think this would fix it.

How effective are GI and SI for plus defense? The numbers look small on RedTomax. Are they worth getting for the Defense or slotting for Defense once I have them?

I'm looking at Illusion/Sonic is there a guide. I've never done Sonic and I think I could figure out a back story. Is there a guide so I can see how it plays as it gets bigger.

All the guides have disappeared because of the forum relocation. I'm wanting to do an Illusion Controller, but have no idea what to pair with it. What are the suggestions and why?

Most of the guides on the first page no longer have links that work. Do you think it will be possible to repair those links and get that info back?

Soul Drain does add accuracy, and if you are soloing you may not have enough bad guys to be at the damage cap.

Someone asked in another thread, "How do the other sets without a Heal manage to stay alive: I responded with:

Well Shield Defense has True Grit and Super Reflexes has Dodge. Both grant resists and/or more hit points. Shield Defense also has Shield Bash that is a very good mitigation attack built right into it.

I'd say Electric Armor is the weakest Secondary for Brutes. I still like it and want to play it. I just want to figure out how to make the best of a bad situation.

True Grit
Auto: Self +Res (Cold, Energy, Fire, Negative Energy, Toxic), +MaxHealth

Your intense training has left you tougher than even the hardiest of heroes. You gain additional hit points and resistance to fire, cold, energy, negative energy and toxic damage sources. This power is always on and costs no Endurance.


Dodge
Auto: Self +DEF(Melee), Res(DeBuff DEF), Res(Damage, Special)

You have the ability to innately Dodge some melee attacks and you resist Defense DeBuffs. Dodge also grants you minor Damage Resistance to all damage except Toxic and Psionic. This Damage Resistance is only available as you lose Health but it improves as your HP declines. This power is always on, and will permanently increase your Defense versus melee attacks.
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Seriously, why can't Electric Armor get some love?

Well Shield Defense has True Grit and Super Reflexes has Dodge. Both grant resists and/or more hit points. Shield Defense also has Shield Bash that is a very good mitigation attack built right into it.

I'd say Electric Armor is the weakest Secondary for Brutes. I still like it and want to play it. I just want to figure out how to make the best of a bad situation.

True Grit
Auto: Self +Res (Cold, Energy, Fire, Negative Energy, Toxic), +MaxHealth

Your intense training has left you tougher than even the hardiest of heroes. You gain additional hit points and resistance to fire, cold, energy, negative energy and toxic damage sources. This power is always on and costs no Endurance.


Dodge
Auto: Self +DEF(Melee), Res(DeBuff DEF), Res(Damage, Special)

You have the ability to innately Dodge some melee attacks and you resist Defense DeBuffs. Dodge also grants you minor Damage Resistance to all damage except Toxic and Psionic. This Damage Resistance is only available as you lose Health but it improves as your HP declines. This power is always on, and will permanently increase your Defense versus melee attacks.

All the guide links don't work now that they migrated the forums.

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With the proliferation, is this a brute or a scrapper?
If it's a brute, head to the brute forum for better advice.


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I posted in the Brute forum as well, since you suggested it. I figured since Brutes didn't have Claws currently, this was the best place to get good answers. But I'll take a good answer from where ever I can find it, I'm reading both and checking both.

I'm sure the Scrappers and Tankers are trying to figure out how to make the set as durable as possible too.

I've heard a lot of add Defense and adding Defense really does little for you because of amount of defense reduction present.

I think everyone agrees that additional health and regeneration are great to use, but can those get to meaningful levels?

How much help is Aid Self really? Can I really fire it off?

I'm curious how to make Electric Armor as durable and strong as possible. I'm probably going to make a Claws/Electric Brute when they come out for Brutes.

I'm trying to make him as tough as possible. With an all resist set that can be pretty hard. There is a little mitigation in Claws, but not a lot and I want to make my toon as tough as possible.

What suggestions do you all have?

I'm curious how to make Electric Armor as durable and strong as possible. I'm probably going to make a Claws/Electric Brute when they come out for Brutes.

I'm trying to make him as tough as possible. With an all resist set that can be pretty hard. There is a little mitigation in Claws, but not a lot and I want to make my toon as tough as possible.

What suggestions do you all have?

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I would agree with this and add, changing the melee damage modifier on a Defender greatly without doing anything to the ranged damage modifier. Defenders have the hardest time getting into and surviving in melee range. Reward them if they get in there and try to mix it up.

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I don't see this as much of a reward in practice, since (a) not all Defenders have meaningful access to melee attacks (I do not consider investing in pool attacks "meaninful") and (b) not all Defender builds or playstyles are suited to even being in melee range for the majority of their powers. (I have little doubt that (b) derives in part from (a).)

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I just see it as wrong currently. And since all Defenders have access to a melee attack in their Epics, it would be meaningful for a lot of thematic characters. And because there is so little use of defender melee attacks you don't really have to balance them. Its not like melee range is healthy place for Defenders to hang out.

My global is Tali_Hawk

What will probably happen is Tankers and Scrappers will get a self heal in place of Conserve Power. Villians will still be stuck with Conserve Power.... like licking a poopsickle.

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Adding a pet to each of the Defender Epics Power Pools and fixing Vigilance so that it provides a reliable benefit and also provides it solo would most likely fix most of the disparities.

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I would agree with this and add, changing the melee damage modifier on a Defender greatly without doing anything to the ranged damage modifier. Defenders have the hardest time getting into and surviving in melee range. Reward them if they get in there and try to mix it up.