TheDieisCast

OK I will try to post in an easier to read way, you are right about that-I am not being ironic, just I normally hate forums, not really into computers, mostly pen & paper rpg's.

Now, your stats are correct but in your judgement you make a mistake; You do not take into account environment created by pool powers or min-maxing, only inv basic powers. That pool powers are:
a)the fighting pool available
b)the fact that 15 per cent defense is WAY better than 40 per cent resist.
(this is the reason why fire tanks that have imba resists but no defense are considered gimped by many players(not me)

So you cant say "look, 15 per cent defense vs. 20 non-smash/lethal resistance, resistance is more, so invulnerability is a resist set".

in general, 3-slotted tough hide and 3-slotted weave give you 6 per cent defense each(3.75 unslotted).Same as invincibility without melee foes.

Do the math:18 per cent-5 per cent=13 per cent.
With combat jumping:15.5 per cent.

each foe in melee gives you 1.8 per cent defense. max is 18 per cent, can we assume you will be getting 10?
that's 25.5 per cent defense.

IMPORTANT: BASE MOB TO-HIT-CHANCE IS, I REPEAT, 50 PER CENT, NOT 100 PER CENT.plus 6.5 per cent with lvl difference, but never gets 100 per cent like base damage.

So, even level foe has only 24.5 per cent chance to hit you (WITHOUT divine avalanche).That is way more important than
having 20 or even 30 per cent resist.

I repeat;You CAN play with resists;

But you will only be non-squishy against Smash/lethal opponents (70 per cent resist if min-maxed with 3-slotted tough), as 20 per cent resist to others is not enough to render you nigh-unkillable mini-tank.

And if u dont wanna b a mini-tank, why choose inv?

Defense, for the reasons I have stated twice, is a more important stat in coh in general if u wanna be a tough character.

a +3 mob has about only base 65 per cent chance to hit you
and deals 100 per cent base damage;So "hurt" the lower stat if you wanna be tough against his attacks, not his strong stat... common sense.

Note: 12,5 per cent resists are useless because the guy will b dealing 87,5 per cent damage, alot.
BUT basic accuracy is 50 per cent, not 100 per cent, so 24 per cent defense=half hits vs. anything.(note:30 per cent defense with weave!vs. melee, 45 per cent with divine avalanche!imba only 5 per cent chance to hit you!)even to-hit buffs and accuracy stuff due to lvl difference, a 24 per cent(even a 7 per cent) defense bonus is important, exactly because base accuracy , unlike damage, is NOT 100 per cent, so same percentages=more important for defense.

Look at the powers;
The Important powers in Inv are(percentages with 3 SO)
Temp. Inv(40 per cent s/l res)
Uny stance(mezz protection, -5 def, 5,5 s/l res, 12,5 rest)
Invincibility(6 per cent def +1.8 per foe in melee range, up to total of 24 per cent(!))
Tough Hide(6 per cent defense)
Unstoppable(god mode)
Dull Pain(+max hp)

Result: NOONE WILL GET RESIST ENERGIES/ELEMENTS, so
resist to s/l=45,5 per cent +6,7(resist physical obligatory) + tough(18)=70 per cent
resist to everything non-psi, non-s/l=12,5 per cent(=ZERO)
defense:-5(Uny)+6(T.H)+6(Inv basic bonus)=7 per cent=important, even with no melee foes.
With 10 melee foes defense =25 per cent=great.
Note:Unstoppable is a god-mode, not a "resist power". Actually, it doesnt even stack with resist powers, since it caps all non-psi resists...combos with defense + hp BETTER!
Now compare these insignificant resists(12,5 per cent?COME ON!!!)WITH Super reflexes up-to-57-per-cent-vs-all RESISTS.Did u saw that "detail" in my post?So, Invulnerability ONLY HAS RESISTS VS. SMASH/LETHAL, it's the hp+def combo that does the trick. If you play resists, You will suck against everything non-smash/lethal, not just everything psi... Instead of watching the quantity of powers, look at their stats. As u can see,for example, Unyielding can HARDLY be described as a resist power. Compare it to FIRE(yes, fire, the offensive set) Plasma shield:TANKER's unyielding gives 10 per cent smash/lethal, 16 per cent else. Plasma gives 47(!!!) per cent fire/energy/NEG ENERGY resist(plus mezz protection as unyielding), and even 16 per cent vs. cold, which is supposed to be fire's achilles heel(uny doesn't vs. psi)...Not saying Inv is gimpy:just its secret is in the combination of hp+def,whith s/l resist as an "extra"for not being focused.THERE IS NO SUCH POWER AS RESIST ELEMENTS/RESIST ENERGIES, and Uny, as u saw, is mostly mezz prot, not resist(12,5 per cent with 3 SO lol).
so, 2 resist powers, one of which sucks(T.Invulnerability, resist physical) and 2 great defense powers=defense set.
I see your characters in your signature:though i think you are not inexperienced(no high-lvl, but many mid-lvl alts, so experienced enough imho) when your katana/inv gets invincibility and slots it, watch your scrapper TANKING(I have done it for4-5 ppl teams in unyielding missions, since tanks are abit hard to find)you will see invincibility and tough hide are not as great as ppl think;they are BETTER.

Correction: When i said 40 per cent recharge for perma-dull pain I meant 40+70(hasten)+90(dull pain enhancements)=200 per cent. Only 40 per cent is needed from sets, though.

The problem with inv is the misconception of it being a resist set.No it isn't.If you play it this way it will be gimped because non-smash/lethal resist powers are too low.
Instead, Inv is a set that combines near-SR defense(sometimes more, depending on number of foes) combined with enormous hp(from Dull Pain, which is absent in SR line). Now, because this is abit non-focused strategy, the dev's have given it the "bonus"(NOT main strategy) of having resist TO S/L DAMAGE , the most common damage taken. Other resists are minimal, SR has practically better(do you know that each passive in SR gives resist to everything as your hp drop?can theoretically reach 57% vs, anything.Yup, with the passives.Practically you will get about 25-30. Power description doesn't say it)

So, the focus on Inv is this:
a)MUST...REACH...PERMA-DULL PAIN...Important part of Inv strategy.You will only need about 40 per cent recharge, however.Don't overdo it if not necessary.
example:Crushing Impact will give u both Rech, Acc, and hp.
Also, psi-resistance

b)ranged defense.You already have good defense, and since largest portion of melee damage(even from sets like energy melee) will be S/L you need not worry melee.Example: Red fortune will give u recharge, ranged defense, and low damage bonus that can't hurt. Slot it in Invincibility, Weave(or if u dont have it,Tough Hide, out of need). Another neat advice: Use resist physical damage's useless slot for steadfast protection:defense 3 per cent all types baby!

c)Once u get the 40 per cent rech needed(u can;only 3x crush imp., 2x red fort, 2x special Gambler's enhs in, like,
Combat jumping or Stealth or whatever is a simple example), THEN you should focus on
getting mezz protection, probably the 2 mezz special enhs from aegis and imper. Psionic resistance is useless if u hunt for it, good if u only get it as "xtra", like in Impact.That is because Invincibility and tough hide wont work against it, so building on it will never fill the psi-hole, THOUGH HP AND (some attacks)RANGED DEFENSE MIGHT.

Final answer:reach 40 per cent rech(get hasten too) and then boost defense and hp.(using 2 enhancements to increase mezz protection isn't boosting, since it requires no great slotting strategy)

Answer to regen vs. inv question;
Regen simply rocks at low lvls, this doesnt mean it is better than inv.(not saying regen is worse though) They both get dull pain but fast healing is better than resist physical, reconstruction is better than TInv when u solo(in team with heals present, resists are more useful) and
also regen takes quick recovery much earlier than anyone takes stamina.Mezz protection powers are about equal I'd say, but late-game, Invulnerability gets Invincibility, tough Hide and Unstoppable and regen only gets Instant healing, wich cannot be compared with unstoppable alone, let alone having all three(I will not even talk about moment of glory that is both out-of-concept and does not suck but is "meh" at best as a tier 9).See?late game they are pretty close, VERY difficlt to say which is better.

Hey everyone. I was looking at my main(BS/Regen) and decided I really, really didnt like the feel of regen anymore. I loved it at early lvls when everyone was trying to get stamina and I had quick recovery, I loved it when I had Instant healing at 28, but sometime I think it reached a "cap" in its performance, and when it became "balanced" (as it should be) and I saw it was not the only way to go as I thought at start, I decided to roll something unimaginable pre-I9 that I always wanted to see (an inv scrapper) and see how it goes. He is currently 37 lvl and I post my build to get any advice.I do not have a hero planner so bare with me.

lvl 1:Resist physical damage(steadfast protection:defense)
lvl 1: sting of the wasp:Crushing Impact(all but acc/dam/end, dam/end/rech)
lvl 2:T,Invuln.:Titanium Coat(full set)
lvl 4: Dull Pain:Miracle(full set)
lvl 6:Build Up3xrech)
lvl 8.Avalanche:Crushing Impact(full set)
lvl 10:Combat Jumping:Luck of the gambler(global recharge)
lvl 12:Hurdle:Jump
lvl 14:Super Jump:Jump
lvl 16;Unyielding:Aegis(global mezz/psi rez)
lvl 18:Health:Intend on getting Numina's regen & recovery
lvl 20:Stamina:EndMod
lvl 22:The Lotus Drops:Multistrike(full set)
lvl 24:Hasten:3x recharge
lvl 26:Soaring Dragon:Crushing Impact(full set)
lvl 28:Invincibility:Red Fortune(full set)
lvl 30:Stealth:EndMod
lvl 32: Golden Dragonfly:Multistrike(full set)
lvl 35: Tough Hide(2x Defense)

Any comments/advice?also, where can i get an IO hero planner?

OK, people, sorry for the dealay but I kind of had an Internet problem.Time to give advice on IOs.
First of all, you have 5 PBAoE: Blazing Aura, Consume, Burn(wich I don't really like, but is an option), Combustion and Fire Sword Circle.Perhaps the Ideal enhancement here is Scirroco's Dervish: It will give you huge accuracy bonus,(total up to 45%) and regeneration, and certain defenses.
NOTEo NOT fully-slot consume with scirroco;You like DESPERATELY need it to recharge fast so save 1-2 slots to simple IO recharge and rest scirroco(ideally 4 for acc)
You also have 3 resist: Fire Shield, Plasma shield and tough.The best for these is the following tactic;slot 3 IO DamRes(they shields have low end cost) and a slot each in Steadfast prot(KB protection).Then you can happily respec out of acrobatics.You may also want to give up another slot in one of these for the Steadfast protection defense unique enhancement, 3 per cent extra defense. Slotting sets in shields (fire, plasma) won't work because they have too low end cost to take advantage of the endreduxs, and recharges wont really cut it..
You also have a heal:healing flames. there is a trap here. You can easily be "seducted" by set bonuses of sets like numina's or miracle's that have special enhancements, but dont forget;you really REALLY want it to heal greatly and recharge fast. Best imho is combo of 3xMiracle +3xRegen tissue, Heal/rech, end/rech, and heal/end/rech.This way its healing and recharge wont hurt and you will be happy to receive their hp bonuses.
Last, you have your melee attacks; Imho the way to go is a combo of full-slotted touch of death & mako's bite, full 6 slots of each in your attacks will give their last bonuses, the melle defense from ,say, greater fire sword with ToD and ranged from Incinerate with Mako's. this way you can gain precious defense that u lack.
Finally, weave:Gambler's luck will give you regen, accuracy and hp.
I will not talk about health because the tricks in its slotting have long been discussed and are mostly known.

Any comments?

Smash lethal resist:
Fire Shield gives 30 per cent.
3-slotted with SO/IO:47 per cent.
3-slotted Fire Shield-Tough(form fighting power pool):62 per cent.
3-slotted fire shield,3-slotted Tough:70 per cent(quite cool, second best to invulnerability)

Fire Resist:
Fire Shield gives 30 per cent
3-slotted:47 per cent.
3-slotted fire shield, plasma shield:77 per cent.
3-slotted both shields:90 per cent(doesn't get higher, this is cap)

alternatively, temperature prot can give 20 per cent fire/cold resist or 32 when 3-slotted, but not really recommended.
Cold Resist:Plasma Shield gives 10 per cent
3-slotted:16 per cent.
3-slotted plasma/temp prot.(not recommended):48 per cent.

Energy/Negative:
Plasma Shield gives 30 per cent, and 47 per cent when 3-slotted. Not imba, but better than Ice and Invulnerability.

Psionic:none, but almost noone gets psi-resist anyway. at least u have healing flames(VERY important power) to heal damage, unlike others that don't have any defense.

Toxic: also rare, but u get 20 per cent resist per healing flames cast.

Defense:This is where u lack.
only easy-to-get defense is weave(from fighting pool) and Combat Jumping from Leaping.They give 6.8 per cent defense,
9.8 when 3-slotted weave(3-slotting CJ's low bonus not recommended of course)

Status effects:You have good protection vs. disorient, hold and sleep.
U need Combat jumping iif u want immobilise protection, or burn.
You also need Acrobatics(from leaping again) if you want knock protection too. As u can see, leaping and fighting pools are highly recommended.
alternatively, hover and fly can give u low knock protection(u flip over instead of being knocked).

Last but not least, endurance management:
Consume will be great for + end, but only when slotted for accuracy and possibly recharge.
A better way is to get stamina from fitness like most ppl, or get both for near-infinite endyrance(my choice). Now, woth all those pool powers, your attacks will be left behind, but you will be able to tank for any large team like a normal tank(not gimpy defense-wise) and your attacks will shine later on.
Awaiting for feedback.
Coming up next, IO advice9could take some more time though, with slotting strategies having really changed)

As a player that has played or scrapper secondaries and all tanker primaries except stone,I decided to create this post for the following reasons:
a)give info to new players about fiery aura resists and needed pool powers
b)give examples as to how issue 9 has changed fire tanks
In my next post in this topic, I will give the resist info. In the following, advice in IOs.