Teeto_K

"But people need respecs!"

And as the trial stands, no one wants to play it with them! Last night, I was on a Terra Volta that very nearly didn't start. "TV forming!" the call went out, "Run sutter instead" "Come do the villain respec" the replies came in.

I'm in favor of:
A) A fixed timer for the spawns
B) That gets set to 30 sec when the current wave dies off.
C) And a wave counter to go with it.

I'm REALLY in favor of:
A) A fixed timer of 30 sec for the spawns.
B) The trial starts in the reactor room and the other objectives must be completed to make the waves stop coming.

But no one will get behind that but me.

So it's the STORAGE companies, choosing to auction off the stuff of misfortunate nonpayers who are disgusting parasites.

The nerve, insisting on being compensated for their services and trying to maintain their ability to offer that service by freeing up storage space.

That figure of 12 to 14 K per ticket on bronze rolls makes me smile a little. People often casually advise that people not waste inf on "over priced" uncommons and use spare tickets on them instead.

At 80 tickets, grabbing an uncommon is like throwing away 960,ooo inf. Considering the worst uncommons top out at closer to half that, it's somewhat vindicating to me that my instincts said "spend the inf, roll the recipes".

At 8 tickets for a common (A random one mind you), it's about 96,ooo, a figure that seems much more reasonable considering the 10k to 200k price range on the mid level ones.

Pocket change for the real rollers, but for the people the "good" advice was meant for, well, not so good.

Something to note when you're "checking" how Resistance interacts with resist debuffs:

In the case of 30% resistance, and a 10% debuff, consider the following:
Debuff is resisted by 30%: The net debuff value becomes 7%.
That 7% is subtracted from your 30% resistance: Your resistance is now 23%.
Without the debuff you were taking 70 damage from a 100 damage attack.
With the debuff you are taking 77 damage from a 100 damage attack.
77 damage is 10% more than 70 damage.

You can do the math yourself, but whatever numbers you plug in for debuff and resistance, the increase in incoming damage is always going to be equal to the percentage value of the unresisted debuff. In an odd way, resistance debuffs always have the same proportional effect: A -100% resistance debuff will always double your damage, even resisted.

In the case of 90% resistance, and a 100% debuff, consider the following:
Debuff is resisted by 90%: The net debuff value becomes 10%.
That 10% is subtracted from your 90% resistance: Your resistance is now 80%.
Without the debuff you were taking 10 damage from a 100 damage attack.
With the debuff you are taking 20 damage from a 100 damage attack.
20 damage is 100% more than 10 damage.

The trick is: Don't let this peculiarity of the math trick you into thinking that resistance isn't doing anything. It's likely saving your life. For an example, lets say in the most recent example of -100% resistance debuff versus 90% resistance, that the debuff was unresistable. Your resistance drops from 90% to -10%, and damage from a 100 point attack goes up from 10 to 110, 1000% more damage.

Thankfully, unresistable debuffs to Resistance are INCREDIBLY rare, the only example I know of offhand are Vanguard Sword Rangers and Eliminators, the Claw users, who apply unresistable debuffs to Energy resistance and are famed for shredding tanks who are caught off guard by large groups of them as the incoming damage quickly increases by a factor of 10 or more as the debuffs stack up.

Unrelated, but noteworthy:

Welp, I have a fairly risk free way of finding out! If I fail, I'll have a new Alt-account for SG inviting. And if I succeed, I'll have a buddy in game a month or two early!

I've been contemplating a secondary account for some time, and this is a perfect opportunity to follow through on that. I think I can construe this as win/win/win because I'll be able to tell YOU all wether or not my mad attempts worked!

The thematic gap for reactive is one problem, but also the fact that it's considered "the only interface" means almost everyone who considers their character a "damage dealer" is going to be rocking it. The result is: Enemies will hit max stacks on the DOT or debuff rather handily.

Opting for Paralytic not only keeps me alive easier, but is far less likely to be redundant with other peoples' interface choices.

I finally caved in and chose One With The Shield to ditch for Grant Cover. If I find myself too broken hearted, I'll try a build without Hasten instead. Ultimately, the DDR did it, but I'll enjoy knowing that everyone within 15 feet of me has higher defenses too.

If I see too many Debuffs, and they're killing me, I already see where I can get my extra points of defense: Put a 6th slot in Jab for the Makos Proc (3.75 ranged), and a 6th slot in Hay Maker and KO blow to swap them over to Touch Of Death (2x 3.75 Melee), then put Eradication into Shield Charge (Swapping 3.75 Melee for 1.88 Ranged and 3.75 AOE). The bonus here is that I don't give up ANY Hitpoints to do this, and Eradication actually GETS me 42 more! Where I'm gonna GET these 3 slots is a question I don't wanna consider, but I suppose 2 could come from Physical Perfection. I'll burn this particular bridge at a later date. For now, I'm not ONLY relying on my defense so a few percentage points lost to debuffs is something I'm willing to try out.

Again, thank you everyone. I KNEW it was too easy to be true, so I appreciate the input.

The Stealth IO is in SJ just because it's nice to be able to choose when you're seen. It's not something I'd have on all the time, but handy to have the ability when the time comes. In normal combat, I'd likely be running Combat Jumping instead.

I do have the City Traveler badge, though a little power pick-reversing makes it legal for anyone since I did take Combat Jumping as well (And am using it to close the defense gap to the soft cap). Or, of course, there's always waiting for COH freedom and level 4 travel elligibility. I'm going to have to decide how much I like Spring Attack when that time comes, but, there's always room for a soloing/scranking build later.

Grant cover gives ME DDR? Augh I thought it was ALL for my teamates, Defense, and DDR both. The real numbers and power descriptions boggle me in this set sometimes. Phalanx Fighting confused me for a long time too. That IS kind of a big deal. Even with the overlap I have in Active Defense, I'm looking at a mere 42% DDR some of the times, and 21% a big chunk of the times. If Grant Cover helps ME, I could be getting another (roughly) 25% DDR on top of that. Considering I just barely kissed the soft-cap and put a toe in the pool on the other side, it would probably have a noticable effect even against minor defense debuffers, and especially against auto hit debuffers. Additionally the idea of sharing defense with my teamates is an attractive one to me to say the least. +16.5% defense for everyone in 15 feet does a suspiciously specific job of closing up the "Incarnate Soft Cap Gap" with room to spare.

Of course, there comes the question of "Where do I cram it into my build.". The first power to volunteer itself for the chopping block is Hasten, but I find that worrisome. +70 recharge is amazing for my AOE's, Conserve, Active Defense, and Rage. Admittedly, I'm looking to tank, not top the melee DPS charts here, and at least a test-run with Hasten IN the build would be cheap to respec out of if I find my defense getting sneezed on all the time. There ARE always lucks after all, and even with NO defense, I'm still no blaster. Perhaps I shouldn't let it worry me, though

One with the shield also steps up to the plate and volunteers, but I kinda like that power. On-demand capped physical resistance, an extra 300 HP or so, and a beefy buff to my exotic resistances, with a side order of recovery is very attractive, especially in a build that as you noted, will gobble its endurance if I'm willing to spend it. I'm beginning to envision a horrible future where I use all 3 of my builds to make the same build, with different combinations of Hasten, Grant Cover, and OWTS swapped out.

Augh.

On incarnate powers, I should have remembered the +Heal enhancement in Spiritual. Consider me salivating at the notion of 33% more enhancement in all of Health, Physical Perfection, and True Grit, as well as One with the Shield. I was waffling a bit on my choice of alpha slot and your nudging might well have helped me make up my mind.

I would probably go Void Radial rather than Void Core, -Damage is probably one of my favorite things, deliscious. And in theme, I'd probably go Paralytic Radial for my interface too. Reactive's popularity makes me hesitant to take it on all my characters.

For destiny I've got a number of options, all of which might help: Ageless Radial would help close my DDR gap at least some of the time, while giving me a periodical Endurance refill. Rebirth Radial would make my regeneration even more absurd, putting me at a full-time minimum buff value of 507% instead of 307%, for roughly 22 more HP per second, and way more during the early portions of the buff. Never mind the massive heal. Barrier is always fun to stack with everyone else's barrier. Getting a leg up above the soft cap would let me absorb at least 1 debuff before cascade begins. And the emergency potential to be had in using it for it's +Resist is attractive, since I have plenty of room to improve in that area.

Thanks for the heads up on DDR and Grant Cover, it was a power I was severely on the fence about and you might just have pushed me into taking it.

Recvovery: 3.48/s
Toggle Burn: 1.02/s
Net Gain: 2.46/s

The +End procs will average .2 EPS each over the long haul, but of course are unreliable and bursty.

Rage and its crash will cost me about .23 EPS if I refresh it pre-crash every 2 min, more if I use it more heavily.

Hasten will cost me at least .08 EPS, more because it is recharging faster than 3 minutes, 3 minutes just accounts for its slotting and I don't feel like doing the fancy math to get an exact cycle time on it. At perma its crash costs about .125 EPS, so the truth is in a fairly narrow margin.

Between the Performance Shifter procs and the crashes I think it can be called a relative wash, with the scales slightly in favor of the procs.

My attack end-red enhancement looks like this:

Jab, Hurl: 68.9
Haymaker, KO Blow: 66.25
Foot Stomp, Energy Torrent: 47.7
Shield Charge: 18.55

More aggressive than my usual frankenslotting (I tend to favor recharge, accuracy, and damage, and ignore all else), it should be fairly helpful.

Placement of sets was partly predicated on this actually: The much-more-available Foot Stomp got Scirroco's because it's gonna cook a lot more endurance than the less-often-usable Shield Charge, and Shield Charge benefits "more" from Obliteration's superior Recharge enhancement.

But yeah, past experience with the build is why I went Energy mastery, took and slotted Conserve, fully procced Physical Perfection, Health, and Stamina. In it's current frankenslotted incarnation, it cooks through it's endurance very fast despite having conserve and Physical Perfection available.

So I've recently developed a crippling IO addiction, and have had a Shield/Super Strength character sitting at 49 forever due to a petered-out group-leveling project I had going with some friends who have since quit the game.

Seeing as he leveled up in the constant company of a Radiation-Emission defender, I was lax on his defenses and built him as more of a "sturdy initiator", bulky enough to buy time for debuff deployment, and aggro-y enough to get things rounded up for rapid Fire Blast based dismantling. Had we done our trio in Issue 19 or later, he'd have probably been born a brute instead. But, this lack of opportunity at the time of his creation has presented me with a unique opportunity now.

I can finally have a tank that tanks. No disrespect intended to my other tanker, but ED batting Fire Shield+Tough away from the Sm/Le Res-Cap is something he's never quite recovered from, and doing a defensive Firey Aura build is a challenge I'm not yet up to.

SO: My attempt at such a build!

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.942
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Eeto The TANKING: Level 50 Magic Tanker
Primary Power Set: Shield Defense
Secondary Power Set: Super Strength
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Energy Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(3), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(3), TtmC'tng-ResDam:50(5), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:50(5), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7)
Level 1: Jab -- C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(25), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(25), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:50(33), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx:50(34)
Level 2: Battle Agility -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(13), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(43)
Level 4: Haymaker -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(11), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(17), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19)
Level 6: Super Jump -- ULeap-Stlth:50(A)
Level 8: Against All Odds -- Taunt-I:50(A)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(13)
Level 12: True Grit -- Numna-Heal:50(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(15), Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(15), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(42), ImpArm-ResDam:40(43), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(43)
Level 14: Taunt -- Taunt-I:50(A)
Level 16: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I:50(A)
Level 18: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(37)
Level 20: Knockout Blow -- Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(21), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(23), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(23)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 24: Tough -- TtmC'tng-ResDam:50(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:50(34), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34)
Level 26: Shield Charge -- Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:50(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(31), Oblit-%Dam:50(31)
Level 28: Rage -- GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(29), RechRdx-I:50(29)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(40), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(42)
Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(33), RechRdx-I:50(33)
Level 35: Hurl -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(40)
Level 38: Foot Stomp -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(39), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:50(39), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(40)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(42)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(45), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(45), P'Shift-End%:50(45), Numna-Heal:50(46), Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(46)
Level 47: Energy Torrent -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(50)
Level 49: One with the Shield -- TtmC'tng-ResDam:50(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:50(50), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg:50(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(11), Numna-Heal:50(19), Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(46)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(7), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(9), P'Shift-End%:50(9)
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 6.75% Defense(Melee)
• 6.75% Defense(Ranged)
• 6.13% Defense(AoE)
• 386.5 HP (20.6%) HitPoints
• 86% (6.72 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 12% (0.2 End/sec) Recovery
• 46.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 9% DamageBuff(All)
• 41% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 19% RunSpeed
• 19% FlySpeed
• 19% JumpHeight
• 19% JumpSpeed
  
• MezResist(Held) 6.6%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 8.8%
• MezResist(Sleep) 6.6%
• MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
• 1.58% Resistance(Fire)
• 1.58% Resistance(Cold)
• 3.13% Resistance(Negative)
• 4.88% Defense(Smashing)
• 4.88% Defense(Lethal)
• 4.56% Defense(Fire)
• 4.56% Defense(Cold)
• 6.75% Defense(Energy)
• 6.75% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)

Here's what might count as an odd question:

Can I purchase this in the NCsoft store, write down the code, and give that code to a friend for him to apply to HIS (now lapsed) trial account, without having to do any shady "account information sharing"?

I'd really like to buy this as a gift, but don't have a convenient way to give him 2 dollars and tell him "Spend this on COH :P" because he's half-across the continent from me.

So we have our powerset choice: Sonic/Energy/Munitions.

Now the trick will be using all those -resist powers without using any activation time.

Point taken on thunderous blast, and perhaps I should settle for giving up the posi's set bonus in the name of power functionality in less slots. The proc was in there to chase the set bonus, and because I already had ED capped damage and didn't value accuracy that highly in a 1.4 base power. I certainly wasn't attracted to it from a raw damage standpoint.

At first I was leery of your slotting on Hot Feet, but looking closer, you have respectable accuracy, and slowing, impressive end reduction, phenomenal damage, AND you fit a proc in it? Consider me impressed.

I suppose I shouldn't be SO quick to drop Fire Shield, because, yes, knowing deep down that I'm surviving even merely 20% more physical and fire damage before dying is a signifigant amount. I have 10.1% HP and so does your revamped version of the build, so capping HP with the accolades is within reach, though as yet I lack them.

On the topic of sapping, it's a road I've been down before, on both this character, and on my Kinetic/Electric defender, and I will say that I'm fairly well dissapointed. Pre-ED +200% End-Mod enhancement meant you could full-drain even-cons in one application of SC, and even now End-Mod slotted Tesla Cage is a powerful recovery lockdown tool, effective up to +3, and 96% effective on +4's, even if you couldn't hold the boss you were plinking at, it didn't matter, he's suffering massive endurance shortage.

However, now that 2 applications of even fully slotted+Musculatured Short Circuit are required to full-drain even +0 enemies, it just doesn't seem worth the sacrifice in damage for the power. And with 4 3-second-ish PBAOES to choose from (SC, Combust, FSC, Burn), Short Circuit gets beat out by all 3 of them for that honor too. It's regrettable, but I've moved on, and pseudo-dominator-ing with 2 ST holds and devastating damage is pretty fun too.

Giving up 11% recharge in the name of a much better slotted and better radius damage aura, and an extra slot in CJ that'll let me slot some KB protection is a trade I'll have to think about, but consider your arguments convincingly made.

2... 2.3 times the damage? Ughghghgh.... why you gotta make it hard. WHY YOU GOTTA MAKE IT SO HAAAAAAAAAAARD!

Heh, no, honestly, I should have expected as much, Hot feet's radius is UNREALISTICALLY huge, and well, if a Fire^3 blaster can leverage it and go so far even as to reccomend it, then I should be that much better off right? I mean, Elec has all that uh, like, defensive prowess, or something? In any case, I AM really attracted to aura powers based on the fact that they are INFINITE damage per activation time, because there IS no activation time, there's just something really attractive about "free" damage.

I like how I was talking about picking up Combat Jumping when I already had it. I don't even pay attention to my own powers! What kind of blaster am I even!?

I dunno how I feel about you mucking with my thunderous blast, though I can hash out the back and forth already:

You: "One cast of each of your AOE's already matches or exceeds TB, so maximizing it's availability is not at a premium, instead it takes a place as a situational crowd clearer, and with the recharge bonuses you have and the slotting I put in it, it should be up often enough to fulfill that role."

Me: "Oh."

Kismet To-Hit is neat, and I know I recently was waxing on about how a few points of to-hit can combine powerfully with high-order accuracy bonuses to produce good to-hit numbers even against deep purple foes. But, I might be tempted to use the spare slot to put a Blessing of Zephyr -KB in superspeed instead. I suppose I can always play it by ear, I don't think Plasma has burned up her 'Volta respecs yet.

I suppose other places I could get slots from include Fire Shield, and there is SORE TEMPTATION to drop it altogether for Blazing Aura again and go double-damage-aura-mania. I have a fairly low opinion of "shields on blasters", tending to prefer control to tanking (ironic considering I'm talking about stacking damage auras?), of course with honorable and exceptional mention to acknowledge +Def builds leveraging Ice/Scorpion shields.

In any case, thank you, you've given me a bit to chew upon, and a fresh perspective is always useful, even if only to contrast my own thinking against and see where the light comes through the holes.

For a long time, I've had an Electric Blast/Fire Manipulation blaster waiting in the wings. And, slowly but surely, I've become at more and more of a loss as to what I should do with it.

When the character was originally concieved, I envisioned it as a "Sphere of death", capitalizing on the large number of PBAOE attacks available to the combination. This was well before I understood the difficulties those AOE attacks faced in the forms of long animations and slowly delivered DOT.

My most recent build for the character maximized click AOE's: She sported 6, Ball Lightning, Short Circuit, Combustion, Burn, Fire Sword Circle, and Repulsion Bomb. It turns out that yes, there IS such a thing as too many AOE attacks. And that number is 6. (I'm not counting thunderous blast, as I consider that more of a crowd control power with bonus XP attached to it )

So I hash and I hem and I haw and I waver, I've even cobbled together a modest Soloing build using Pyre mastery's Hold in conjunction with Tesla Cage, dialling back on the AOE's (Only 3, Ball Lightning, Burn, and Fire Sword Circle), utilizing Medicine's Aid-Self and slotting up Ring of Fire for a fairly complete ranged attack chain. It's passable, though merely frankenslotted.

But that still leaves me with my teaming build. I'd like it to be AOE focused, and I'm not really gearing toward survival.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.942
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Plasma Raine: Level 50 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Secondary Power Set: Fire Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Charged Bolts -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(23), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(23), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(25), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(25)
Level 1: Ring of Fire -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(19), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(19), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(21), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(21)
Level 2: Lightning Bolt -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(15), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(15), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(17)
Level 4: Ball Lightning -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(11), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(13), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13)
Level 6: Fire Sword -- Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(7), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(7), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), HO:Nucle(9)
Level 8: Super Speed -- Clrty-Stlth:50(A)
Level 10: Fire Sword Circle -- Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:50(27), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34)
Level 12: Aim -- AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:50(A), AdjTgt-Rchg:50(36), RechRdx-I:50(36)
Level 14: Combustion -- Oblit-Dmg:30(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:30(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:30(37), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(45), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(45)
Level 16: Build Up -- AdjTgt-Rchg:50(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:50(37), RechRdx-I:50(37)
Level 18: Tesla Cage -- BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(A), BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(39), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg:30(39), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold:30(39), EoCur-Acc/Hold:50(40)
Level 20: Blazing Aura -- Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:50(40), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:50(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(42)
Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(45), RechRdx-I:50(46)
Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 26: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 28: Consume -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(29), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc/Rchg:50(29), P'Shift-Acc/Rchg:50(31), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(31)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 32: Thunderous Blast -- Posi-Dam%:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(33), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 35: Burn -- Oblit-Dmg:50(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:50(42), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:50(43), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(43), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43)
Level 38: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 41: Char -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg:30(46), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold:30(46), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(48), EoCur-Acc/Hold:50(48)
Level 44: Fire Shield -- TtmC'tng-ResDam:50(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:50(48), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50)
Level 47: Rise of the Phoenix -- C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:50(A), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg:50(50), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:50(50)
Level 49: Bonfire -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(5)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(3), P'Shift-EndMod:50(3), P'Shift-End%:50(5)
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Set Bonus Totals:

• 21.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 21.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 5% Defense(Energy)
• 5% Defense(Negative)
• 2.5% Defense(Ranged)
• 6.75% Max End
• 45% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 88.8% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 10% FlySpeed
• 122 HP (10.1%) HitPoints
• 10% JumpHeight
• 10% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Immobilize) 11.6%
• MezResist(Sleep) 2.2%
• MezResist(Stun) 8.8%
• 14% (0.23 End/sec) Recovery
• 3.15% Resistance(Fire)
• 3.15% Resistance(Cold)
• 10% RunSpeed

Ruminations: There is a temptation to get Tactics and run the "Chance for Build up" proc in it. Similarly, I'm tempted to do the same with the Decimation proc in one of my ranged attacks, because I'm slowly falling in love with damage buffs. For tactics I'd drop bonfire in a heartbeat, but for the Decimation proc I'm not sure where to pull a slot from. I'm not about to start metagaming and trying to buff my AOE's by pre-firing charged bolts as part of my buffing-chain (Aim+Build Up or what-have-you).

For set bonuses I eagerly chased Recharge, and modestly chased damage buffing. I don't make enough money to chase purples, at least, not today.

Blazing aura is better than any of the other click PBAOE's I skipped to take it (Short Circuit, I'm looking at you, guilty as I feel for skipping you.), and Hotfeet's side effects are merely irritating. +Level enemies will Purple-patch the slow down to nothing, and spread out of the already anemic PBAOE radii I'm sporting. I suppose I could probably find better uses for the slots/power pick, and am tempted to spread them elsewhere and take unslotted fly with a BOTZ -KB global in it. Thoughts? Damage auras are REALLY good supplemental damage, if you can stay in melee to apply them, so I'm hesitant to give it up. Or I could take uh... combat jumping? And mule in another +7.5% recharge, although I'm not really chasing perma-anything, more is always better right? Especially on the key long-timer powers like my nuke and my self-buffs?

Speaking of my nuke: Ugh. Posi's blast is terrible nuke slotting material. Someone tell me to slot it 3 Nucleolus and 3 recharge and ignore the set bonuses. Someone just say it out loud so I don't feel crazy for being tempted to do just that. Please?

The slots in Rise of Phoenix are non-negotiable, except for maybe adding more. I'm a PBAOE blaster trying to leverage blazing aura for crying out loud, even if I play like an expert, the power will see use. And nothin says lovin like massive damage on ressurection. It's also literally my favorite power in the game, bar none. Questions include: Should I instead go with Stun/Recharge frankenslotting? The fact that the 3 damage ticks are delivered with individual hits means that most enemies are flung out of the Radius before the second 2 ticks can even hit, so maximizing stun instead of damage sounds appealing. Should I add 1 more slot and put another (Is there another?) ___/Rech in?

Anyway, thoughts, flames, complaints, observations, punches in the gut, all welcome. You're even free to complain about me slotting ROTP.

It doesn't take a lot of recharge to get fairly regular multi-nado's. If memory serves, the +95% that 3 so's will get you gets it nigh-perma, and the obligatory 3-slot hasten means you're running around with an extra +70% at least half the time.

Schenanigans can ensue merrily for the majority of your tornado summons.

If you're feeling incredibly frisky, take Whirlwind and Waterspout, and spin to win.

I've got some good news and surprisingly, considering that it's a BLASTER powerset combo we're talking about, I've also got some bad news.

The good news is, that, if you're looking to make a single target ranged assassin, Ice/Energy is still among the best builds for it. Boost ranged and power boosted holds followed by Built up and Aimed blasts will still carve through enemy HP in style.

I don't remember the last time I saw you kicking around the forums, but I DO remember that it was your posting that sold me on the combo, and that was way back in the day, so, just to be safe, I'm going to go over everything that ever happened to the power combo, and you can hit me with a power boosted total focus for your trouble.

The bad news is, depending on when you quit the game, Ice might not be as zippy as you remember it being. Bitter Ice Blast and Ice Bolt remain as good as ever, with their short 1 second activation times. Ice Blast on the other hand, now takes 1.66 seconds to activate, making that power signifigantly more sluggish than it originally was. It was part of a universal "Normalizing" of Tier 1 and 2 attacks that came packaged with the final draft of our "defiance" inherent power, so Ice wasn't alone in suffering this blow, and for some sets, the change to 1 and 1.66 activations for the first 2 powers constituted a signifigant buff (Elec and Energy come to mind). This ended up being the price of being able to use these powers while mezzed, and getting a damage buff from every damaging attack we use, so it's hard to quantify how much of a "loss" it was.

Since this normalization specifically ignored Tier 3 attacks, Bitter Ice blast still gives Ice a particular kind of edge over other non-fire primaries, being not only one of the quickest animating tier-3s, but also second only to Fire in damage and having the best range and a nice package of defensive secondary effects rolled into it.

The other bad news is that Total Focus is no longer sufficient to stun a boss on it's own, it's stun magnitude was reduced to 3. The worthiness of this power is incredibly suspect for a blaster, because it still has it's overdramatic 3 second animation, making it a signifigant opportunity cost to use for signifigantly less benefit. Oh well, times change, powers change. At least it still hits like a truck?

Speaking of powers changing, it's not ALL bad news. Ice storm and Blizzard inherit buffs from the caster. Power Boost does just unholy things to the slows in both, and to the to-hit-debuffs in Blizzard. I suppose Build-up and Aim are kind of nice in them too, but, really, since they also inherit the remaining duration of the buff, you're not getting quite as much mileage out of the damage buffs as someone using a more traditional nuke, and you end up playing goofy timing games on how to order your power activations, since if you Power Boost, Build Up, Aim, Ice Storm, Blizzard, you're eating up damage buff duration with power activations. But if you lead with Power-Boost and Ice storm, the enemies are scattering more before your Blizzard drops. The tough decisions we face, can't we just kill em all and let god sort em out? Too much fiddling and finagling in the art of destruction.

Um, I can't really think of anything else. If you quit before invention origin enhancements existed, you'll be pleasantly surprised at what a recharge geared build will do for closing up the gaps in your attack chain, and considering that both powersets have quick animating hard-hitting attacks on long timers, there's a lot to be gained there.

All in all, I'd say that if you enjoyed the blaster in Issue 1, you'll enjoy it now. AOEing has always been "king", I wouldn't say it's more the case now than it's ever been. Ice/Energy's particular brand of holding what it aggroes and having the option to maintain a low aggro profile certainly makes it a self sufficient death dealer, just as it's always been. And for those situations that call for it, Frost Breath and Ice storm, especially backed by Power boost, are fairly competent AOE's.

Tactics' to-hit bonus is potentially more beneficial than Accuracy bonuses, depending on what you farm.

If you're up against level 54 enemies, and are +1 level shifted so that they are +3 to you, then with no to-hit bonuses and just base 1.0 accuracy attacks, you need +97.91 accuracy bonus (Including both Slotting and Set Bonuses) to get to 95% chance to hit.

If you have tactics giving you +7 to-hit bonus, the amount of accuracy you need to get to 95% is only +72.72, a signifigantly smaller figure.

Now, I don't know where your slotting and set bonuses leave you, and it might be a non issue, but the way to-hit and accuracy interact with each other can make just a few points of to-hit very signifigant. Now, mind you, for my part, it pains me that I can never find the slots to 6-slot Rise of the Phoenix, and tend to be loathe to hear of anyone skipping it altogether, so if you want my personal opinion, I'd say roll with it. The difference in rewards-per-damage-output between +2 and +3 enemies is fairly marginal, and it takes much less accuracy bonus/slotting to reach 95% against +2's (69.64 without any to-hit buffs). And being able to self-rez is occasionally useful and or fun.

Push push push, if you really wanna get your work out there and shared. Just letting it sit won't get results. Be active here, pimp it's best features, and so on. Having some kind of selling point, or hook, is a big help. You've gotta be able to answer the question of: What makes joe-hero or jane-villain want to stop when they see your ad, and think "I had better try that out!"?

For an example, my lone arc has been sitting in my signature since the launch of architect, and while I've refined it somewhat over time, it's basically been there in the system since day 1.

And it has 18 rated plays. And if the rumblings of frustrated authors are any indicator, I've done fairly WELL for not really advertising at all. And I have put almost zero effort into advertising it, mostly because its a fairly mediocre "Go beat up these bad guys" arc that doesn't really have much to write home about. Mostly I made it for myself, so I'm content with that, but if you're interested in sharing and being seen, it's gonna take some effort.

Interesting. The result is a little different than the dev-mission 3-waves, but there's some interesting possibilities there.

1) After the objective completes means that the ambush triggered can't cause a failure of the objective.

2) As the object loses health means that it gets harder the worse you are doing. Interesting, but perhaps not the best choice.

I'll have to mess around with this a bit.

So with the max ambushes in a mission being 6, then no matter how many ambushes I have, as long as its less than 6, the defendable object will get only 1 attacking wave?

I thought it was like 3 waves or something, I guess I'm misremembering.