UnicyclePeon

My suggestion would be Necro/Poison/Leviathan for the humor value. By level 10, you and your zombies will be puking all over the enemy. Dual puke power. Its hilarious. I never get tired of it. Add in Leviathan for another puke/spit attack, Bile Spray. As a bonus, you have a (mediocre probably, but hey) version of KO blow, so that after you puke on someone and spit on them with your single target poison hold, you can punch them in the face for good measure. Well, in theory. My Necro/Poison is only level 33 curremtly.

Have fun!

Lewis

Yeah the one thing I know about isn't an exploit anyway, its just a ramification of certain ATs in certain situations. And people can't/don't use it to power level others, its a solo thing. So if people are asking for experience a lot these days, I think it is just because people want to get to 50 for the "shineyz".

Lewis

I guess I didnt quite convey what I meant, since you (Sam) just said that min-maxing is fine, but doesnt work for you and that you have to have story and character instead.

What I am trying to say is that it is NOT the case that you are either a minmaxer xor (exclusive or) a story guy. I view it as a bitfield. Costume, poweset, minmaxer, name, storyguy, and oldcharacterfrom1981 (nostalgia) are all different bits that can each be set individually to 1 or 0. Minmaxer and storyguy are not the 0 and 1 association in the same bit. They are entirely different bits.

I am just hoping I can get some credit for being at least somewhat multifaceted.

Btw in the Motivation bitfield of costume, powerset, minmax, name, story, nostalgia, I would have mine set to 010011.

Lewis

Here and there in this thread I have seen people mention that they start with concept first and never minmax or start with power effectiveness or what-have-you. And thats cool. But I just wanted to say that starting with powersets first does not mean you are a dirty min-maxer (not that there is anything wrong with that). It also does not mean that story and roleplaying are thrown out the window.

I like superstrength. Not because of effectiveness, just fun and concept. I like the idea and the powerset enough that I have made space in my character list slots for most of the permutations of super strength. However, I wait until an idea strikes me. I dont just make a character and graft on a shape or costume or story later.

From a story perspective, I like thinking about origin stories, and how they interact with personality. I will look at one of Sam's examples to contrast. He started with a tough gal personality with a sword who jumped around and was gruff but had a good heart. Then he worked in powersets and movement and everything else from there. For me, I dont know the personality until the end, because for me, a characters personality is shaped by their background before receiving powers, the powers themselves, and the experience of getting them.

Think of someone who was a mutant with gravity powers who was a bit confused by it all when her powers kicked in. However, she met a mentor who guided her and so now maybe she is a tough girl with a heart of gold whose confidence sometimes falters but she finds it within herself to prevail. Compare this to a gravity mutant whose powers were triggered due to torture and experimentation. That person will have issues. Now picture someone who touched a magic stone which had an evil being in it and now he has to share his body with a murderous entity with gravity powers. Will the character struggle for control or give in to the base cravings of the entity? What about someone who sacrificed 1001 innocents to an elder alien god in a deliberate bid to get power, and they have gravity control now?

I start at powerset, but it is the intersection of person, powers, experience, and transformation that drives the kind of story and character I will choose to make.

I mean, what would a professional golf player do if they could summon demons after picking up a strange magic ring that grafts itself to his body? What about a religious housewife? What about a politician? What about a little kid? What about an ex-con determined to go straight?

For me, thats where its at. There are lots of powerset combos I want to play, but what will those powers mean for those who get them?

Lewis

I like seeing how powersets play. So I never have a shortage of combos I want to try. Maybe I want to try Claws/EA for example. So then I just toss around character concepts to fit the build.

Lewis

Hmm. I do already have a level 50 fire/sonic controller, and a level 50 firekin on each account. Ill try it but I do so love the double PL.

Thanks,

Lewis

I am a controller fan, so I am looking forward to that new Freep Manipulation power, Mass Ignore.

It should rock! Assumimg I can tell. If its really good, I wont be able to!

Also, power customization.

I am also hoping that I can spend my 400 ppoints on transfers. I have about 16 transfers I want to make (gee thanls powerset proliferation) so between free monthly transfers and pps, maybe I can get them done within half a year or so.

I just wish I could buy access to a fourth page of characters.

I also hate the monthly credit card limit. I guess I can change it but I kinda just wanna be able to take my other credit card and make whim purchases without having to store the card info or have a limit. You know, just drop a massive slab of paragon points on there when it starts, maybe do it again come Christmas or birthday.

Lewis

I have shocked people with how ineffective I am. I was taking 1 to 2 hours to 3box 5 tip missions with 2 door sitters who could die for all I care. Because my softcapped fire/sr scrapper couldnt hang tough on -1x3 for some foe types. So pinnbadges (server global channel) had me post a build and thought it was decent. So a few of them followed me around in a mission. Nobody could quite figure out why I was slow. Someone felt sorry for me and gave me a crafted purple. I was a bit embarassed but it was a nice gesture. My first "pity purple".

Anyway, I threebox the battle maiden map but two are always door sitters. Maybe that is part of why I am slow. Maybe im doing a diff map tho. Its bm champions of war and such on that classic map but I average 1000 tickets a map and it takes me 30 minutes. Maybe 25.

I dunno.

Lewis

Eryq2,

What missions do you farm in PI? I have battle maiden and maybe the demon farm. I havent done them in ages since ive become accustomed to the ae.

Should I switch back?

Lewis

I see people making crazy ticket rates, I guess by doing these fire farms. However, those make me nervous and I dont have any characters that can do them. I have a simple fire/kinetics controller. I run either "real" battle maiden or else a clone of it I made. Nothing cheesy.

But I am slow compared to what I see here. I threebox an ae battle maiden (usually power leveling my alts) and I am slow so it takes me 30 minutes a run and I probably only generate 800 to 1200 tickets per character per run.

So for a slow dog like me, am I better off doine real battle maiden, ae battle maiden, or something else?

I would like to threebox five tip missions each night as well but I play tons of squishies and/or sucky builds and/or I am a fairly poor player anyway.

So vonsidering all that, what approach should I take? I am a bit tired of having high level characters but no cash to rub together to outfit any well.



Thanks,

Lewis

Fire/thermal sounds nasty. Or rad/thermal. I bet rad/kin would be pretty neat too if you were willing to get in close. Let the tank clump them, then you fulcrum and irradiate and neutron bomb them. Good times.

Lewis

Cool deal.

I hear ya on the Cloak of Fear. Sometimes other people don't like a power that I really like, and every build will skip it, but I will take it anyway (Thunder Clap). And sometimes there will be a power that everyone else loves, but I might skip it regardless (Propel).

So it's all good. Sometimes, personal preference has to prevail!

Enjoy your character. It kinda makes me want one. But I have too many projects already.

Lewis

Here is a build I threw together. It might not have as much global recharge as some people prefer, and it has a lot more toggles than you absolutely have to run all the time. But this is basically how I would build one if I made one. And if I were rich I might get a level 10 knockback BOTZ proc for super speed, and put the gladiator def in place of the steadfast knockback proc in Murky Cloud for 3% more global. But basically this is how I'd do mine. The build has 45% global recharge, soft-capped S/L, and 2.99/sec recovery compared to 1.34/sec toggle cost (INCLUDING the benefits of T4 Cardiac). So its not perfect. But the cool thing is that if you get Darkest Night on something, you are soft-capped (basically) to all positions and all types, except psi (and you'd be soft-capped to Psi when DN is running if you had the gladiator).

Anyway, I'm sure my build is far from perfect, but maybe it will give some impressions on how the powers can be slotted.

Also, sorry again if my tone seemed harsh. I was composing on a super small phone screen and it was hot as hell out too. Distractions affect my social acumen.

Have fun!

Lewis

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

Click this DataLink to open the build!

ZZZ POC BRU SS DA: Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Dark Armor
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Jab -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 1: Dark Embrace -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(13), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(21), RctvArm-ResDam(25), S'fstPrt-ResKB(29)
Level 2: Punch -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 4: Haymaker -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 6: Death Shroud -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(7), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(7), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(37), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 8: Knockout Blow -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(9), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
Level 10: Obsidian Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(40), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(40), RctvArm-ResDam(40), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(42)
Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 14: Super Speed -- QckFt-EndRdx/RunSpd(A)
Level 16: Dark Regeneration -- Acc-I(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(27), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(27), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(37), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(39), Dct'dW-Rchg(39)
Level 18: Rage -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(19), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(19), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(46), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(46), GSFC-Build%(46)
Level 20: Cloak of Darkness -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), LkGmblr-Def(43), LkGmblr-Rchg+(43)
Level 22: Murky Cloud -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(23), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(23), RctvArm-ResDam(25), S'fstPrt-ResKB(29)
Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 26: Taunt -- Mocking-Acc/Rchg(A)
Level 28: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
Level 30: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg(31), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), RctvArm-ResDam(42)
Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(34)
Level 35: Oppressive Gloom -- HO:Endo(A)
Level 38: Soul Transfer -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 41: Soul Tentacles -- Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(A)
Level 44: Darkest Night -- DarkWD-ToHitDeb(A), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/Rchg(45), DarkWD-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(45), DarkWD-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Weave -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48), LkGmblr-Def(48), LkGmblr-Rchg+(48)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50), LkGmblr-Def(50), LkGmblr-Rchg+(50)
Level 50: Cardiac Core Paragon
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Fury
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(42)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(13), EndMod-I(21)

My ice/storm still isnt going to take arctic air. I simply dont enjoy it.

If you want to talk about fun, storm has to be mentioned. Storm/Dark/Dark defenders are great fun and I am sure a corruptor would also be cool.

If you like ranged damage but storm is too wild a ride, give a Fire/Dark corruptor a shot.

If you are the kind who likes to get all stabby, a Katana/Dark scapper sounds fun. Or Broadsword or Dual Blades or maybe Claws.

If you want to punch people to death with darkness, a Dark Melee/Energy Aura brute is fun, and Dark Melee/Shield makes a good scrapper.


Lewis

Have fun with your new character.

Lewis

Martial arts/super reflexes stalker to get your "i kick u" going.

Invuln/superstr tank for that classic experience.

Fire/shield scrapper for some scary alpha strike aoe.

Claws/willpower brute for that "never stop killing" feeling.


Lewis

I would say go for Illusion/Cold. Basically for all the reasons the previous poster gave, but also because you will be able to bring some pain with Phantom Army. You guys would be able to confuse dangerous foes buff heal, crush hard targets, etc. That would be a nice duo.

Lewis

I had sort of resigned myself to not making a titanic weapons guy. But the staff rekindles interest.

I think a staff/fire brute could just be fun, so I can get my Wizard action on. "You shall not pass."

Or maybe staff/sr for the martial monk.

Lewis

I think SS/WP is more fun and easier on the endurance bar than invulnerability. Also, willpower fits in the sence that symbolically, if the character stands in contrast to a planet lf corruption, then WP is a good character/psychological fit.

Super strength fits also because it gives that sense of being reliable and resolute.

If you just want an energy effect representing the Prime, def do not go Energy Melee. It is sub par. I wouldnt go Kinetic either simply because I think it will contrast with the sense of drive and purpose of the characters aesthetic. Basically, too dancy.

Just go SS/WP and consider using the Alpha aura or the Atomic aura on the hands in combat (to represent The Prime).


Lewis

This build is all over the place. You spend crazy money in places for a little recharge or defense with no particular focus, and yet key powers are at times underslotted or slotted oddly. You delayed rage to level 35 also. Etc.

Sadly I am not near MIds so I cant post a counter build. Some comments tho ...

Punch is ok. Recharge makes sense with dark armor because you want dark regen up.

Dark embrace ... Not enough end reduction, set bonuses here are pointless and you dont have enough defense on the build to bother with the steadfast unique until you get other stuff in line.

Haymaker is ok for slotting except you arent geared for defense so the set bonus is pointless.

Dark shroud ... Bad bad slotting. You want to max out end reduction to 90% or 95% and dame for damage, with at least 33% accuracy. Your slotting will crush your stamina bar, esp with your (generally) inadequate end red in this build.

Murky shroud ... Numbers are kinda ok but the set bonus is pointless here and ... GLADIATOR?! You dont have enough defense on your build to justify the one to two BILLION it costs. Maybe throw a slot on maneuvers first and see how that goes?

KO blow slotting is ok I guess.

Tough slotting is ok.

Dark regen is massively under slotted and mis-slotted. I always six slot it. You want all the recharge, end reduction and accuracy (prob in that order) you can get. Healing is nice too but of lesser importance since hitting multiple targets will fill your health bar up if you have good accuracy.

Combat jumpimg is overslotted considering all the other places you are underslotted. You spend a lot of money here on global recharge when your build isnt even really recharge oriented. Kismet is nice but its a luxury you dont have until you shore up your basics.

Weave is expensive and underslotted.

Cloak of darkness needs end reduction and its underslotted and would do more for you than a gladiator def proc you dont even need for crazy money. Slot up your basic powers like this or obsidian shield or maneuvers..

Cloak of fear I usually skip so no comment other than to say your slotting seems to be a weird mishmash again.

Foot stomp would be ok except that the end reduction is low and the recharge bonus is expensive for the cost, considering your lack of rech focus in this build and this builds crushong end cost.

Rage ... Slotting for rech I think. I forget but maybe five in that set gets you some global rech. Well and good but dont skip this to level thirty five. Take it at eighteen.

Obsidian shield needs to be slotted. Not every set gets resist vs psi so slot that bad boy up. At least drop and end reducer in otherwise.

Oppressive gloom with absolute amazement. A bit pricey for 10% global recharge considering your other build issues. This power is one of the few that you COULD run with just one slot.

Soul transfer .... Huh. Weird slotting. Chance for end and stun on foes ... Here?

Maneuvers as a lotg rech mule? Considering the weird and expensive places you bought minimal defense elsewhere, I would expect you to maybe slot this up and use it.

Char has goofy slotting. Two hold procs are ok but your numbers and slotting are lacking otherwise. Weird.

I never take melt armor so I am not familiar but the slotting seems wonky.

Health looks good except those expensive procs wont cover your massive end costs on this build, even with cardiac. Youll want to get your builds basic end costs in line and then youll still want this.

Stamina .... Weird that you pushed for six slots and (iirc) 3.13 aoe def considering your builds lack of aoe def and def generally. I can see wanting the chance for end proc tho.


Ok. Well I hope I wasnt too harsh. I suggest lookimg at some builds, especially for dark armor. Your super str slotting was about adequate other than taking rage late. But the dark armor side needs some work.

Good luck!

Lewis

I'm not sure if this is a known issue or something for Mids, and its pretty minor, but I figured I'd post it here, since Mids' is used by all ATs for power design etc.

So, make a new character, and pick a villain AT, for example a Brute. In the field for the name, put something with the name "Hero" in it. Perhaps name your hero "Test Hero" or something. Select at least a power or two from primary and secondary. You dont have to do more than that. Save the name and accept the default name (which will be something like Test Hero - Brute (Battle Axe).mxd).

Once you've done that, do "File -> New" (and confirm losing the character, since you've saved it). Then do "File -> Open" and pick out good old Test Hero.

His name will still be "Test Hero" in the name field, but on the windows bar on the top of the application, Mids' planner will have judged him for his past sins and he will be "Test Villain".

I guess you can't escape your past. At least not yet.

Lewis

P.S. There must be code somewhere that changes non-important text references from Hero to Villain for the Villain ATs. I haven't tested it to see if it works the other way, but I'm about to.

P.P.S. The inverse doesn't happen. A Defender named Test Villain will not, when re-loaded after a save, be called Test Hero in the title bar. That's a double standard right there, I tells ya!