UnicyclePeon

I was briefly excited, but now I am a sad panda. I was hoping to be able to take tough and weave without having to take boxing. I have more melee characters wasting a pick on boxing than I care to enumerate. I have a large number of controllers, masterminds, corruptors and defenders in the same boat. I think I only have one character who has tough but not weave.

Oh well, I guess I am no worse off, just sadder, and its good for someone I guess.

Lewis

Feel free to pinch any of mine. That is what they are for.

Lewis

TonyV,

Thanks for the long response. It was good to hear and it is much appreciated.

Lewis

I was thinking about a Thugs/Traps also. I started one, played her into the 30s, then had to delete her because I wanted her concept/name for something else. If I rebuild her, this is what I'd go with. Maybe it will help the OP, maybe not.

Lewis

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

Click this DataLink to open the build!

ZZZ MMM Traps Thugs: Level 50 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Thugs
Secondary Power Set: Traps
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Call Thugs -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(3), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), BldM'dt-Acc(5), BldM'dt-Dmg(7)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Caltrops -- Ragnrk-Knock%(A)
Level 4: Triage Beacon -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(9), Dct'dW-Heal(9), Dct'dW-Rchg(43)
Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 10: Acid Mortar -- RechRdx-I(A), ShldBrk-Acc/DefDeb(11), ShldBrk-DefDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(11), ShldBrk-Acc/Rchg(37), ShldBrk-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Achilles-ResDeb%(39)
Level 12: Call Enforcer -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(13), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(13), S'bndAl-Dmg/EndRdx(15), DefBuff-I(15), DefBuff-I(40)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Force Field Generator -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(17), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
Level 18: Gang War -- S'bndAl-Dmg/Rchg(A), S'bndAl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19), S'bndAl-Acc/Rchg(19), HO:Nucle(21), EdctM'r-PetDef(21), C'Arms-+Def(Pets)(46)
Level 20: Poison Trap -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(33), Lock-Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(34), Lock-%Hold(46)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 24: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(25), LkGmblr-Rchg+(25)
Level 26: Call Bruiser -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(27), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(27), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), BldM'dt-Acc(29), BldM'dt-Dmg(40)
Level 28: Seeker Drones -- Cloud-ToHitDeb(A), Cloud-Acc/ToHitDeb(31), Cloud-Acc/Rchg(31), Cloud-ToHitDeb/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Cloud-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Cloud-%Dam(33)
Level 30: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Trip Mine -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(36), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), Sciroc-Dam%(37)
Level 38: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Aegis-ResDam(39), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(40)
Level 41: Web Envelope -- TotHntr-Acc/Rchg(A), TotHntr-EndRdx/Immob(42), TotHntr-Acc/EndRdx(42), TotHntr-Immob/Acc(42), TotHntr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43), TotHntr-Dam%(43)
Level 44: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(45), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(48), GSFC-Build%(50)
Level 47: Scorpion Shield -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Rchg+(48)
Level 49: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(23), EndMod-I(23)

If he isnt willing to run rage, I suggest that your friend picks a different primary. Fury or no fury, much of super strength's effectiveness comes from rage.

Issue 21 will feature the new Street Justice set. It is not a free set, but it wont have rage (i assume) and so it might work better for him.

His other option is to learn to manage the rage crash. My biggest problem with it was that I could never tell it was happening until it was over and I had wasted a bunch of endurance. I preferred the old crash where you couldnt do anything. I deleted SIX different level 40+ super strength characters because of how much I personally hated the new rage. I tried and tried, believe me.

What finally did it for me, that made me *usually* realize it was happening is that I used the combat monitor and put my damage bonus in there and put it right in the center of the screen. Usually half way through the new crappy rage crash, I break out of tunnelvision/scrapperlock, see the red -9999 damage, and go "oh" and then I just stand there for 5 more seconds and let my recovery top me off (i always slot a miracle and a numina in any superstr character). And on some sets, including EA, you can leech endurance back while you wait.

Learning to stick red numbers in my face helped me, and now I can play SS without a disadvantage. If only I could make the big evil red numbers HUGE.

Lewis

I think double xp was delayed until a different weekend.

I do have a thugs/storm and a necro/poison I need to work on tho.

Lewis

I wish dimension shift would simply be replaced by a power called gravity shift that functioned exactly like ice slick but that had no visual effects other than the foes bouncing up and down. Of course that might make ice control look silly. So we could change ice controls ranged sleep to a ranged hold but leave it on the same timer it has, and leave glacier in the set. Make ice the king of aoe holds.

Hey a guy can dream, cant he?

Lewis

I dont think you should rule out mind control. The aoe sleep is up enough that solo, you can at least get mass hyp + terrify off once in a fight, maybe twice. Also, aoe isnt a big deal when soloing and on teams you are planning to work your empathy side.

But lets say its down to ice and grav.

Ice has super low damage if you care about that, especially aoe damage is low. And it also has no reliable aoe hard control to prevent retaliation to aoes you launch, and the one passable mitigation (ice slick) requires some trickiness to apply safely and it interacts awkardly (tho not a deal breaker) with the aoe immobilize that grants containment. Plus your arctic air power can generate a lot of aggro at times ... Not always the best for an empath.

That said, I played ice/emp to 40 or so. I deleted her but only because I needed a new character and I was absolutely out of slots.

Gravity control is rough in a way. Aside from getting its aoe stun late, it also has a long cast animation which can get you faceplanted every time you try to use it. Now, you can leverage the non-line-of-sight aspect of wormhole, but I think its more accurate to say that you are obligated to leverage it, not merely that you can do so. That long animation time is killer.

But I know someone that swears by his grav/emp. I just feel that empathy is one of the least helpful powersets for smoothing out some of grav's weaknesses. Well, you do get a self heal, and the fire epic has a self rez

I have fire/emp, illusion/emp and earth/emp at level 50 and I love all three. But if they are out and mind/emp is out, I would say ice/emp.

Tho what about elec/emp? Or did someone turn you off of that? It has an aoe confuse that is up frequently, it has the best sleep power in the game (in that its location based, aoe, and re-sleeps foes) and you have an aoe for immobilization to set up aoe damage from the epic. And since the confuse can be active all the time, its pretty safe to leverage that aoe.

So elec/emp would be nice.

Lewis

I want the ability to suppress the graphics for ancillary/epic pools, specifically the controller Ice and Stone mastery defense shields. I am tired of my characters having to kill kittens, join Arachnos, and then become good again, just so they dont have the poop of giant eagles upon them.

I want smash/lethal defense *and* I want shiny pretty hair, please. And a pony. And this lamp.

Lewis

Good point (OP). Still, I don't think there is much you can do about hating powerset mechanics (street justice) once you have made a purchase. But in terms of graphics it would be cool to get a preview. Maybe there could be in-store npcs who provide cut scenes, or maybe there could be a story arc id listed in the store that you could play in the AE or from the store itself to see the set in action.

Lewis

Youre so good you didnt notice it was hard? Well I guess you just need to wrestle CallMeAwesome's forum name from him and all will be right with the world. Should be a snap.

Meanwhile, those of us who suck would like to relax a bit and enjoy the game a bit.

Lewis

Have they mentioned whether revamps to lowbie zomes will experience power creep with the new foes and/or stories? A long time ago, the developers promised to leave the old power / difficulty in original content, and that difficulty increases would be limited to new content, especially new higher level content. However that is a 4 or 5 year old promise and those guys are gone. Plus a new change to an old zone is a grey area in that it is both old and new.

But I will say this. I will never do Praetoria as a lowbie ever again due to the fact that the foes there are a LOT harder than normal foes. I got my butt handed to me over and over. It was a tedious slog due to the enhanced difficulty. Therefore I am hoping that new versions of galaxy, atlas, and mercy dont suck in the same way.

Want to tell a cool new story? Fine. But please dont fill my default/standard path lowbie missions chock-full of foes with massive damage and esoteric status effects. If I want a challenge (read: if I want my low level experience to be a dreadful chore) then I will go slide my difficulty up.

Thanks,

Lewis

I have no interest in Beam Weapons so I wont make one, but if I did I would make a beam/traps corruptor.

I will make a fire/time controller, simply because it is a "thing" for me to play all the fire control permutations to 50.

As for street justice, I will be street/willpower, or maybe street/super reflexes. Whether I am a brute or a scrapper, I have not decided.

When titanic weapons comes out, assuming there is either a staff or a naginata option for the weapon, I will do titanic/wp or titanic/sr. Again, not sure whether I will scrap it up or get my brute on.

Even though I am going out of scope slightly into proliferation territory, I also plan for a fire/poison controller as well as illusion/poison, plant/poison and earth/poison. Hey ... I like poison.

Lewis

Sounds like the jump pool new attack is gonna piss me off. Because it sounds like a no-brainer for powergamers, and I already take combat jumping on every character I make. But I loathe every other power in the leaping pool, especially superjump. Frustrating. Unless we only need one other power (combat jumping) to unlock it.

Lewis

I just hope the defense numbers stay the same, and I hope my character remains invisible (graphically). I based my build around softcapping defense. I based my costume and auras (and the way they interact with the invisibility effect) around my character's background/concept.

As long as those two aspects arent taken away, I will be fine.

Lewis

Make a storm summoning character. I recommend energy/storm corruptor as a super fun choice ... All knockback, all the time. Wind, rain, thunder, crazy energy going all over the place .... Yeah.

Lewis

If past beta tests are any indication, the current prices will go live. While some things do get changed between beta and live, policy changes are rare. Beta is the environment for "is this bugged?" and not for "hey guys, is this ok with you?" ....

Now, some prices may change, especially if anyone can bring numbers and facts to the table. Personally, I think the prices for powersets are too high, even factoring in free points and tier nine bonus points. 600 points would be more appropriate. But Arcannaville is swinging for the status quo this time, so even good strong numbers arguments with facts will face an uphill battle. Plus now these are sales related numbers, not game value tweaks. Bottom line stuff.

Odds are very high that most beta prices will hit live as-is. Though I would be delighted to eat my words.

But if prices go live as they are now, you know, whatever. If I dont like it I dont have to buy it. So no worries.


Lewis

The trailer was kinda bland, but to be fair, it feature none of the stuff from the issue that I am looking forward to.

Lewis

There is a thread over in the general forum discussing the info that has been released at Comicon or whatever. Im addition to time manipulation, there will be beam weapons (a blast set) and street justice (a melee set).


Lewis

I think Illusion/storm and Plant/storm are great fun.

All the storm combos are pretty good actually.

Lewis

I wonder how the new Beam Weapons set will stack up, seeing as how its single target oriented and maybe -res focused as well?

Lewis

It looks like Thermal/Beam Weapons could be nice too, since Beam Weapons are supposed to have some -res effects. I think.

Lewis

Generally, my characters care about their own storyline/situation. Those concerns may intersect with story/canon events but usually dont, other than origin story perhaps.

Also, I will say that none of my praetorians, whose personalities were created before ever playing in praetoria, gave a rats knuckle about the praetorian story. They just happen to come from there. But I only made two praetorians and will likely never make any more due to the fact that foe difficulty is too high for low levels for my tastes.

I hope the new Atlas and Mercy dont suffer (suck) for the same reason.

But yeah, most of my characters have their own story.


Lewis