Timeshadow

Precisely this. The Alpha Slot effectively functions as an enhancement. It applies to all applicable powers and has a percentage of enhancement that ignores Enhancement Diversification. The exact percentage that bypasses the limit depends on the tier of the Alpha Slot.

I'm going for Musculature. I've always been after more damage for my PB and the added Defense debuffs will help with to mitigate the lack of a consistent ToHit buff.

If I recall correctly the Sonic Grenade the Nullifiers use actually emanates from a target as opposed to a location. You can confuse said Nullifiers and they'll apply the debuff to themselves but it ceases as soon as they die. That would also explain why the effects persist even if you get well away from the graphic that indicates the area of effect.

Either way it's still a nasty little power that can really sting. Especially when, like you said, a few of 'em stack and leave you with worse than 0% Resistance. Still, Longbow's not nearly as tricky as Arachnos can be

At first glance the numbers don't seem all that far apart. But one must also take into account the fact that Sunless Mire has a long enough duration to also be effective in forms. Shifting from one form to another takes 3 seconds. Build Up only lasts for 10 seconds so 30% of its duration expires in the time it takes to go from one form to the next. Compare this to Sunless Mire which will continue to be in effect for another 27 seconds after a shift so only 10% of its duration is lost.

Let's look at another example with Bright and Dark Nova. Both forms come with an inherent 45% increase to Smashing and Energy/Negative Energy damage respectively. This time I'll compare their AoE potential with Bright and Dark Nova Emanation.

Now there are some mitigating factors to be represented. For the sake of fairness I'll include them.

1) Sunless Mire's buff is dependent on the number of targets in range and has a toHit check. The first point was a very good counter argument in the days before the advanced difficulty settings. In those days players were limited to simply doubling the number of enemies; the game would still register them as being solo (So the limit was essentially x2). That's no longer the case. Players can now set their missions to spawn the same number of enemies as would appear if they were on a full team. So Warshades can, in effect, receive the maximum benefit from Sunless Mire even while solo.

As for the toHit check, who doesn't slot their powers for Accuracy? A 5% chance to miss is hardly a mitigating factor of any significant degree.

2) Fully saturating Sunless Mire requires a Warshade to put themselves in greater danger. This is theoretically true but there are other things that must be considered as well. Warshades have two AoE Stuns that stack with one another. I'm referring, of course, to Gravitic Emanation and Inky Aspect. A Warshade equipped with these two powers can stun anything short of an Elite Boss and then proceed to use Sunless Mire with impunity.

Conclusion: The discrepancy between the two Kheldian ATs' damage dealing potential is clear. In days past this was limited by the fact that Peacebringers' buffs did not require enemies, living or dead, to be effective and therefore granted them a steadier performance curve, particularly while solo.

But those days are gone. In the current game environment Warshades can easily outpace Peacebringers regardless of whether they are solo or teamed. This makes Warshades a vastly better choice for anyone seeking to increase DPS whether they be a solo player or a team leader in search of another member. Peacebringers need an increase to their base damage in order to continue to fulfill their role as a hybrid AT that puts out above average damage. My recommendation is to raise the melee damage modifier to .95 and the ranged damage modifier to .90.

The two highlighted points are issues that are really only faced by those who attempt to run a QuadForm build.

Yes, Light Form locks you out of Nova and Dwarf. But what difference does it make? It's a Tier 9 godmode power that's intended for emergencies, not frequent use (I wouldn't even go so far as to say it should be used every time it's available). If you need to activate Light Form it's because you've gotten yourself into something that Dwarf's already considerable Resistance can't handle. Of course being locked out of Nova limits your damage potential but that's more of an issue with PB's base damage values than the way Light Form functions.

As for the second point, what's to retoggle? The shields are the only things I can think of that fit the description but why are you even using them if you've got Dwarf? If you're making use of the shields to keep you alive while you deal damage then you must be using Radiant/Incandescent Strike, Solar Flare or Photon Seekers. It only takes a split second to drop Dwarf and activate those powers, all of which provide you with some mitigation that allows enough time to get back into Dwarf.

What I'm getting at with all this is that a QuadForm build, one that attempts to make use of Human, Nova, Dwarf, and Light equally isn't efficient because it suffers from large amounts of overlap. All those powers compete with one another not only for slots but also for proper usage. Some of them are better than others for different things. When you try to make them all function well at the same time you end up with a cacophony instead of a symphony.

Why go to the expense? You can easily get Knockback protection at level 1 by slotting a Steadfast Protection -KB IO in Incandescence or Absorption.

Once again, why spend the Influence? At the levels you're planning to be at you'll be using Nova for damage. It's inherent ToHit buff will be more than enough.

Also, as has already been said, if you're exemplared down to 15 then you'll have access to Dwarf as well. But you'll be limited to the base slots that come with all of its powers. That should be fine since you'll really only be using it to tank and break out of the occasional mezz. It's more than capable of doing those jobs without any real investment. The only place you may notice the lack of slots is the heal but it shouldn't be enough to put a damper on your performance.

Seriously. I banged out 50 levels on a Dark/Regen Scrapper (Ah, Voider. I do miss him sometimes) to unlock Khelds. Ever since then EATs of both sides are the only ATs I can seem to really enjoy. That's probably why my stable of characters consists of approximately 6 toons. Well, that and because I hate leveling as an exercise

That's cool for you but I don't wanna be subjected to sub par play just to suit your idea of what's "fun". It's your right and mine to do what we want in-game and not worry what anyone thinks.

I hear what everyone's saying about players who still contribute to the team without having what are commonly viewed as key powers. To some extent I agree. Will I be upset with a Force Field player who doesn't have Dispersion Bubble? No but if they don't have Deflection or Insulation shield that's another story. I won't kick such a player if we're just running normal missions but if it's a TF/SF/Trial they won't be stickin' around. To some that may seem unfair or excessive but my enjoyment of the game is based on performing well, not just sufficiently.

All of Mind Link's effects apply to any teammates within range when it's activated and it provides +toHit as opposed to +Accuracy.

My Night Widow build is designed for perma Mind Link (Currently about 10s shy) and she does a great deal to keep herself and her team alive. Particularly the squishies. If all that Defense fails I can just finely dice whatever's attacking them.

I have to agree with this. Don't get me wrong, a bi-form build is plenty viable but there's nothing more rewarding than making good use of all three forms. A well built and well played TriFormShade is a true engine of devastation.

I knew I recognized him from somewhere! I read that post last year and thought to myself "Seriously? Wow..."

Definitely kill the lieutenants LAST. Their Vengeance triggers on death and will stack, as far as I've seen, infinitely so if you kill them first you've got a whole lotta Nemesis left to deal with and they're all buffed to godmode.

There's no mechanical solution for dealing with enemies that specifically counter Defense. It's intended to be that way. Keeps you from doing the "faceroll" on your keyboard that a lot of us here on the forums say can get you through the vast majority of the content (I vehemently disagree but that's another story for another day )