Vexus

Great tips, thanks. I'll give the build another try and see what I can come up with using the great ideas from all of you.

Wow I had no idea about those rolls. I've done the AE Random Rolls and every once in a w hile gotten a good recipe, but probably like 10% of the time or less. I've done Bronze and done Gold thinking Gold was better and Bronze was cheaper thus more bites at the apple. I was unaware that Random Rolls for Merits was the way to go though. Thanks.

OK, but I can tell you now that I can't really afford Ragnarok or Apocalypse ... nor can I afford those extra Miracles and Numina's in Health, so I'm going to have to go with a different build for a while until I can raise that kind of dough.

What are the good ways to build for Global Recharge? Is there any less-espensive alternative for doing it? I've been using my Merits to buy LotG's; should I be doing something else?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the help.

That looks good, but it also looks much more expensive, lol, guess this is going to be pricier than I thought, heh. Thus far I have 1 Miracle Recovery and it cost me 250M, the rest of my build combined only cost about 500M, heh, now I need 3 more of those ultra-expensive ones in Health alone, and another in Sprint, heh. Does the +Stealth IO in Sprint work if you do not have Sprint on? I ask becuase the extra end drain will make it hard to justify.

Thanks again Nord, I'm going to price out the rest of this ASAP and see what I can do.

Thanks for all the excellent advice everyone.

About the Ragnarok's, I have 3 goals with this toon, and mixing in those sets of 2 provided Recovery bonuses ... I wasn't aware of the Rule of Five, so that slotting was a feeble attempt to add more Recovery.

My Three goals are:

1) Def capped at all times and serious Def bonuses for my teammates.
2) Extremely high End Recovery to not have to depend upon a /Kin or /Rad to run all my toggles and blast away as my heart's content.
3) As much Recharge as possible.

It seems I've achieved Defense, and am so so on Recovery, but need improvement on Recharge. Any suggestions on how/where to improve my Recharge? I'd love to get Mind Link perma or close to it, but the cost seemed prohibatively high. Any suggestions on how to dramatically improve my Recharge?

Hearing about this Rule of Five, I'm sure I have wasted Recovery and at the same time could improve my Recovery by slotting the proper things. How would you suggest I re-slot to maximize my Recovery?

As for Defense, that's my bread and butter, so I want that to be soft-capped at all times without Mind Link, which is why my numbers are so obscenely high, but I admit this is probably serious overkill. I was hoping to get 50% to each positional without Mind Link because I mistakenly thought that was the soft-cap. Now that you've informed me it's around 45%, that seems easier to attain. I'm willing to sacrafice a good amount of Defense, but I want to keep each positional above the soft-cap, whatever it is, for debuffing mobs so that I'm capped even while debuffed most of the time.

I used to be a huge PvP'er, but I kind of got frustrated when Castle would nerf every one of my PvP toons each update ... I'd find a way to win with the toon, he'd nerf it to oblivion. Obviously overpowered PvP toons would last for several issues without a "balancing" but whatever I played would be nerfed .. it got frustrating so I left CoH/CoV for a few years and PvP'd elsewhere. I'm back, but I'm not sure I'm ready to get cracked in the nose by the nef-bat again ... I don't find Sprint+Brawl fun, no matter how balanced it is. Tic-Tac-Toe is balanced too ... but who cares?

So, I've been building this toon to be a team toon, but I'm the type of powergamer that wants to be the best, and if I can afford it, I'd like to solo top notch content ... and if I'm honest, I don't think I'll be able to resist PvP forever. It calls to me like The Precious ... even on this non-PvP toon. I realize Def is craptacular in the current iteration of PvP (and has been since I had a /SR Scrapper and Castle went 'Oh, people can't hit him, lets nerf him!'). But, I'd still like to jump in a PvP team and see if I can contribute. I was a founding member of the PvP League on Test back in the day. These days, I'm just another nub re-learning the game.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom everyone.

OK, Original Post updated and includes the data chunk as well, thanks for pointing it out that it was left off originally.

Hi everyone. This forum is excellent and I've learned a great deal. Now that my Fortunata has reached level 50 I've begun IO'ing him out. I'm fairly set on the power choices--although I could be swayed on a few of the attacks--but I'm just not sure about the IO sets, slotting, etc. I've borrowed the basis for most of it from Fortunata Black's build a while back and tweaked it. But if I'm off base or missing something obvious, please let me know, because it's probably from me not realizing it rather than a concious choice, lol. Thanks in advance for all your wisdom ... now please help me improve my Fortunata build.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Natural Arachnos Widow
Primary Power Set: Fortunata Training
Secondary Power Set: Fortunata Teamwork
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Poison Dart

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (48) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
• (50) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (50) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
• (50) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 1: Combat Training: Defensive

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
• (37) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (37) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

Level 2: Subdue

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (3) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (3) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (5) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (5) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
• (7) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge

Level 4: Tactical Training: Maneuvers

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
• (21) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (21) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (29) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 6: Dart Burst

• (A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
• (7) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (9) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
• (9) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (11) Positron's Blast - Damage/Range
• (11) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)

Level 8: Hover

• (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
• (17) Blessing of the Zephyr - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
• (19) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)
• (19) Freebird - +Stealth

Level 10: Indomitable Will

• (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

Level 12: Dominate

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (13) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (13) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (15) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (15) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
• (17) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge

Level 14: Psionic Tornado

• (A) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
• (43) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
• (43) Ragnarok - Damage
• (43) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
• (45) Javelin Volley - Damage/Recharge
• (45) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

Level 16: Swift

• (A) Flight Speed IO

Level 18: Health

• (A) Miracle - +Recovery
• (31) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
• (34) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration

Level 20: Stamina

• (A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
• (29) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
• (31) Endurance Modification IO
• (31) Endurance Modification IO

Level 22: Foresight

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
• (23) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (25) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 24: Mind Link

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge

Level 26: Tactical Training: Leadership

• (A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
• (39) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
• (39) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
• (40) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
• (40) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
• (40) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up

Level 28: Maneuvers

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
• (42) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (42) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 30: Mask Presence

• (A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense
• (36) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (37) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 32: Psychic Wail

• (A) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage
• (33) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Recharge
• (33) Scirocco's Dervish - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (33) Scirocco's Dervish - Damage/Recharge
• (34) Scirocco's Dervish - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
• (34) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

Level 35: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (36) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 38: Tactical Training: Vengeance

• (A) HamiO:Membrane Exposure

Level 41: Gloom

• (A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
• (45) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (46) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Recharge
• (46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (48) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance

Level 44: Tactical Training: Assault

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 47: Assault

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO
• (48) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 49: Confuse

• (A) HamiO:Endoplasm Exposure

------------
Level 1: Brawl

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Empty

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Conditioning
------------

Post your current build in Mid's and that will give people an idea of what you like.

Zombie_Man I saw your hero skin and that looks great ... but I use IE and have no clue what Stylish is or where to put the code, lol, so I don't think that's going to work for me without a little extra tech help, heh. Thanks though, your hero skin looks like it would be great.

Thanks both of you. I really appreciate the input on both sides. As a founding member of the first Test Server PvP League, I was hoping I would be able to PvP with my Ice/Rad, but alas, it looks as though Castle has eeked closer and closer to Brawl+Sprint 'equality' PvP since I've been away, and now the sets don't play anything at all like they do in PvE. After about 20 nerfs to /Rad I was shocked to see that it had been nerfed even more. Dev's, the only 'fix' to Lingering Rad you needed was to make it UNSTACKABLE ... everything else about it worked just fine as it was in PvE. But Ice is just a joke now in PvP.

Pity about PvP, the activation time is something I must have sent about 50 suggestions/bugs/feedbacks about before they even went live with PvP . Now that they've finally figured out what DPS is, they make it painfully clear they still don't have a clue about Burst DPS, secondary effects as a function of DPS, or powerset integrity. It's as though a blind man with a hatchet were attempting a triple-bypass heart surgery while drinking on a boat. Sad really, as this game has far more PvP potential than any of the other MMO's, but the Dev's just don't get it.

Thanks again for the build help.

Thanks a lot Macskull, so I guess flying isn't really an option for me then ... unfortunately I kinda figured that, heh. I really appreciate the help.

Other than the User CP options of Default (ugly turqouise), Hero (ugly turqouise), and Villan (red), is there any way we can get the forums to appear blue like the old forums? It would be a whole lot easier on the eye. Thanks in advance.

Nobody has any suggestions to improve this build?

I'm returning to the game from a long layoff and what I really wanted to do was PvP, but with the state of things, it looks like I'm going to have to hold off on that until the next nerfstorm comes and maybe some of my toons will be useful again, heh.

So, until then I am really curious how to respec my 50 Ice/Rad Corruptor. I'm going to post a PvE build with SO's, but I'm sure there's some good IO sets out there that can inexpensively improve my build, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them, both for PvE and PvP. The only exception to that are comments like "lolz ice blast sucks in pvp." I'm not disputing that (sadly), but see, I already know this, so that doesn't really help me.

Here is an SO build for PvE. Any suggestions for using IO's to improve it would be much appreciated.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 50 Magic Corruptor
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Concealment
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(9), EndRdx(11)
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Heal(A), Heal(15), Heal(15), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(36), EndRdx(43)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Acc(A), Acc(3), Dmg(5), Dmg(7), Dmg(9), EndRdx(11)
Level 4: Radiation Infection -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(13), EndRdx(13), ToHitDeb(48), ToHitDeb(48), ToHitDeb(48)
Level 6: Hover -- Flight(A)
Level 8: Aim -- RechRdx(A)
Level 10: Freeze Ray -- Acc(A)
Level 12: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 14: Accelerate Metabolism -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(17), RechRdx(17), EndMod(37), EndMod(37), EndMod(46)
Level 16: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Acc(A), Acc(19), Dmg(19), Dmg(25), Dmg(25), RechRdx(37)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(23), RechRdx(23)
Level 24: Fly -- Flight(A)
Level 26: Enervating Field -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(27), EndRdx(27), Range(39), Range(39), Range(39)
Level 28: Lingering Radiation -- Acc(A), Acc(29), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40), Range(40)
Level 30: Ice Storm -- Acc(A), Acc(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(34), RechRdx(36)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Dmg(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), RechRdx(33), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Mutation -- RechRdx(A)
Level 38: Stealth -- EndRdx(A)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(42), EndRdx(42), DefBuff(42), DefBuff(43), DefBuff(43)
Level 44: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(45), EndRdx(45), ToHit(45), ToHit(46), ToHit(46)
Level 47: Invisibility -- EndRdx(A)
Level 49: Phase Shift -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(50), RechRdx(50), RechRdx(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Scourge

Now, that takes care of the PvE build to tear apart. I don't even know how to build an Ice/Rad for PvP teams (duels always kinda bored me). I will do zones if I have to, but would really like to be able to have a build that works for kickball pickup pvp on the Test server or on Freedom. So, any suggestions would be great.

Before the nerfs, I had burst single-target dps, excellent slows, and Lingering Rad was absolutely awesome. Instead of lowering the dps a bit for Ice and not allowing LR to stack, the inept devs just gutted both sets, so I know I face a serious uphill challenge. Oh yeah, and it is a build built around slows, which have essentially been removed from PvP by lack of effectiveness. Lotsa limitations ... but if anyone has a good idea how to make my Ice/Rad useful in PvP, I'm listening. Thanks in advance.

In general I agree with the above poster, but with a slight difference of opinion.

I think the 2nd hold in Ice/ is garbage because its animation is simply way too long. Its just not worth it IMHO.

I think Rad Infection is fantastic at every level of PvE and one of the real pillars of /Rad.

As far as PvE goes, Ice/Rad Corr's are as much fun as I have had in the game. They are great for solo, great and very in-demand for groups, great agains AV's, and extremely flexible. They used to be great for PvP too until Castle decided to change PvP into something not even remotely resembling how your toon performs in PvE. So yeah, now LolIceBlastInPvp ... Sadly.

In fact, everything about that combo has been nerfed with a sledgehammer for PvP, from Lingering Rad, to Accel Metab, to Rad Aura, to Ice damage to Ice slows to Ice holds. If you want PvP these days, just play a different game, because its now completely broken. Its painfully obvious that the Devs do not care for PvP and do not know how to play it. They probably have more fun analyzing the calculus rather than actually toning down powers to make them more equal while still staying true to the 'fun' of the powers.

In PvP its kinda like you got used to playing a throwing knives and for pvp they give you featherdusters to throw ...yeah, they still throw at the same rate, but they do not do anything.

Well since you do not PvP, and already have tried Fire/ it might be worth giving Ice/ a try. It has nice fast animations that you can fit in between using your secondary without missing a heal, etc. It does great single-target damage and has a great fast single target hold for a little control. The slow effect sometimes helps too. For AoE damage it has 2 big hitters as well.

If you want to concentrate on your secondary and support, the Ice primary works quite well. It probably has the best single target damage also. Personally, using some of the slow animations of Sonic/ may make it harder to use your secondary because you will not have quick reaction time to your tank getting damage spikes or a squishy that grabs aggro unexpectedly.

I recently returned from a long layoff, but I have been playing on my Ice/Rad Corr and I can attest that the /Rad secondary is still awesome.

Choose whatever you like for a primary, and Dark/ works quite well and should give you the concept you want.

But the /Rad secondary is awesome and versatile--personally I think it is the best powerset in all of CoH/CoV.

It has a heal (Radiant Aura) that is perfect for soloing and doubles as a secondary healer in teams because of its AE effect. It has a clickie combo of Hasten plus Stamina (Accelerate Metabolism) that allows you to almost perma-Hasten and have excellent endurance. It has 3 truly fantastic debuffs as well (Radiation Infection, Enervating Field, and Lingering Radiation). These powerful debuffs require lots of endurance, so thankfully you have it within the ame powerset.

Two AE toggle debuffs that do not require a to-hit check ... Awesome.

RI (Radiation Infection) is your ticket to reliable gaming. It is an AE toggle debuff that does not require a to-hit check. Among other things, it makes it easier to hit mobs and it makes mobs hit you significantly less, and does so without reducing any benefits you may get from defense. Used correctly, it is one of the best debuffs in the game for solo and teaming. Sure, there are other debuffs that are stronger, but they are less reliable. With RI you get a very nice jump in not being hit that will not really interfere with any caps you may reach because it is a debuff. Very complementary and works effectively on every for at every level. It is a toggle debuff with a long cast time so I suggesting using it as your or your team's opener.

Enervating Field (EF) is another AE toggle debuff that most people feel is even stronger than RI ... but I disagree. EF lowers the mob and its neighbors' damage among other things, so they hit less hard. My problems with EF is that the endurance drain is very high for this toggle, and you can only get the 'free cast' from your first attack, and RI is more efficient IMHO. Most people just use both all the time. I sometimes skip EF on fights where I do not need it or am low on endurance. In combo these two toggles are fantastic AoE debuffs.

Lingering Radiation (LR) is another excellent tool. It is not a toggle, rather, it is a clicky power that needs to hit to work, but with RI affecting your target that is a lot easier. LR is great for bosses like AV's or Heros because you do not face their big hitters very often using LR and they do not regen quickly. It is used much less than the toggles, but when you need it, LR is fantastic. its been nerfed into oblivion in PvP, but in PvE its still a great tool.

The set has other things, like a mediocre res (Mutation), and a few dicey situational powers, but RA, EM, and the three signature debuffs RI, EF and LR are what make this powerset great.

Personally, if you have never played a /Rad corruptor before, do yourself a favor and try it. Once you get the hang of it they are one of the most fun things in the entire game to play. They are not overpowered, but they are good in just about every situation and fun all the time.

I think those 5 powers (RA, AM, RI, EF, and LR) make the */Rad Corr powerset the most enjoyable powerset the Dev's made. It just plays well in all situations, is satisfying without ever being frustrating, and the powers complement each other extremely well.

Try a /Rad Corr. I will be shocked if you are disappointed.

[ QUOTE ]

There's a way to do that and still be perfectly fair to defense and resistance sets. Just give higher level villains accuracy increases instead of tohit buffs. Higher level foes would now hit more often, but in a proportional manner. Problem solved.
Someone give Arcanaville a cigar!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for all the insight Castle, you rock!

Just a note, I've been a very strong advocate of Arcanaville's solutions for Accuracy, Defense and ToHit calculations for quite a long time now. IMHO, It would be great to adopt his solutions for those calculations completely. As this is a step in the right direction, I applaud it! But still, I look forward to the day where PvP ToHitBuffs like Focused Accuracy don't completely overwhelm things like Accuracy Debuffs and Defense Sets. Baby steps are better than no steps at all.

Arcanaville's solutions would be far more intuitive, and IMHO, far more fair. They would also make balancing powers easier, as the always-hit and always-miss unbalanced scenarios would be virtually non-existant.

[ QUOTE ]
I've seen a lot of complaints about this so I brought it up before we went live. We changed it so certain toggle effects fade out but it didn't make it into live. Dark Armor shouldn't be so bad anymore once this gets updated. The same goes for Mud Pots.

[/ QUOTE ]

I _really_ hope this change also applies to Unyielding. That hum is very annoying.

Dark/Invuln.

I liked it in Beta and while I'm no Tank, it's a nice combo of Tanker and Scrapper. I still take Point in my teams and enjoy that aspect of protecting the team ... and I love Fury.

Dark has the self-heal, which is why I like it, keeps me active and on the edge of my seat ... because honestly, as an Invuln ... you're not getting much help from your Secondary except mez protection or Invincibility. And until you get Invincibility ... it's almost worth leaving off your Invuln powers and saving the endurance. I can't deal with the obscuring graphics of Fire and Dark, and Energy is just Defense anyway ... so I figured I'd go Invuln, at least it's got Dull Pain as an emergency heal.

Hmmm, so I guess the Invincibility "Posse" Strategy works great for this, just as long as you get aggro of less-threatening mobs (such as -1 minions) instead of more-threatening mobs (such as +4 bosses) and you carry your Posse around. Sooooooo, you want 14 (up to 17 max) aggro'd on ya, then you use Single-Target attacks to kill the Lts. and Bosses. Wow, as if Invuln/Energy Mele needed to be even MORE superior than all of the other Tankers. Energy Mele gets Detoggling, a very lightly resisted damage type, oh yeah, and the best raw single-target damage in the game. Sheesh.

Honestly, if you wanted to limit herding, you might want to consider re-designing Tankers into something more like Scrappers ... oh wait, I guess you did that with the Brutes. IMHO, Brutes work quite well, and are fun to play while being more aggro-oriented than a Scrapper and with less sudden damage.

Of course, a Tanker that cannot Tank is .... useless. Unless of course it's Energy Mele, in which case it's just a PvP monster. Balance? We're nowhere near that yet. You gave everyone and their brother huge Smashing/Lethal Resistance, so all those powersets that are purely Lethal (Axe, Katana, Broadsword, AR, etc.) or Smashing (Super Strength, Mace, etc.) are at a HUGE disadvantage. So as long as you're introducing this concept of Detoggling attacks ... IMHO, those are the ONLY sets that should be able to detoggle, not lightly resisted but very high single-target damage sets like Energy Mele.

Herding ... that's a PvE-only thing. The real balancing needs to be done in PvP where nobody is foolish enough to gather around your Invincibility Aura.