Weather Lord

Honestly, I think just about every AT besides those resistant to -recharge or those packing a heap of psionic defense will have trouble with Awakened. Preatoria enemy groups are usually much more difficult than "normal" game content found in Heroes/Villians level 1-30. Also, pisonic enemy groups are generally much more difficult, unless you're a Dark Armor or something.

But you are probably already aware of that. xD

Anyways, because each shapeshift form only has so many powers to use, and the -recharge really hurts squid and lobster the most, try to see if you can afford a winter's gift +20% slow resist. It helps, not immensely, but every little bit counts.

Try lowerering your mission setting when up against those groups, I know that helped me specifically on my 'shade. Dwarf doesn't get any psionic resist (sadly) so he wont be as effective.

Carry lots and lots of lucks/purples and greens. If they can't hit you, they can't debuff you.

Lastly, don't be afraid to switch forms. I say this because that was my biggest problem on my warshade at first. Once I popped into dwarf, I was in "tank mode" and would lose track of everything else. Rather, let your forms flow with each other, if all your powers in Dwarf or Squid are used up, drop forms and use something else. Stygian Circle is amazing, I use it almost everytime it recharges because I burn through end (and hp sometimes ;o) so fast. If you want to read up on a great Warshade guide, that really helped me personally, look up Dechs Kaison's "MFing Warshade Guide." I'm sure there are plenty of other great guides out there too.

Hope this helped, and have fun!

I second the "play what you feel like playing" mindset, considering that this is for concept. Empathy is much more focused on buffing the team, while Storm is more like creating chaos for your enemies. Honestly, I have little experience with Empathy/ on Defender, but my main is a Storm/Ice Def which is LOADS of fun to play.

It's a crazy fun combo to play, and Freezing Rain + Ice Storm is amazing in its own way. The damage is very good (especially considering Ice Storm and Blizzard do just as much damage as the Blaster version!) and the soft controls between Knockdown in FR combined with all the -recharge and - movement is fantastic! If your not careful, the KB can irritate other players, but that is rarely a problem, unless you deliberately splay mobs all over the room. And while Lightning Storm isn't as powerful as it used to be, nothing will make you smile more than watching bolts of electrifying energy strike fear into the hearts of your targets.

And the best part? When a teammate over-aggros or if a team-wipe is imminent, while the Scrappers are howling in delight and the Blasters are running around screaming, you come alive. All the stops are pulled, and full blown chaos erupts. Hurricane comes on, tornadoes are flying everywhere, the rumble of Lighting clouds fill your ears, ice and hail rain from the heavens, pelting and demolishing anything in it's path. All the while, the enemies are blowing around, half on their backs, half shrieking trying to escape with their lives, and you're in the eye of the storm, grinning in delight and laughing hysterically.

And yes, I am definitely quite biased when it comes to the beauty of Storm/Ice on a Defender. Nevertheless, try it!

Hello all, I recently leveled my DM/ELA scrapper into the early 30's, and I have really enjoyed the combo so far. With the 2 heals and -tohit, survivability is decent and the damage is pretty good thanks to the amazing buff in Soul Drain. However, I do have a few questions regarding the individual powers of each set and also some adivce on IO slotting.

Don't worry, this is not another "rate my build" thread, but my questions are:

1. How effective is Power Sink at draining mobs endurance? Does the -end of PS and Lightning Field have a large effect on survivability?

2. Also, once I hit 50, what exactly should I be going for set bonus wise? I've heard that trying to softcap smashing/lethal def is important, but I also know that +rech would really help, especially with Soul Drain and Energize on such high recharge times. What is your opinion?

3. Because of Power Sink, I wouldn't expect DM's Dark Consumption +end power to be much use, however, because of Soul Drain's huge damage buff in large crowds, would it be wise to use Consumption as a damage power instead?

4. This might be a silly question, but if Soul Drain was made to recharge in less that 30 seconds, the power's own damage against enemies would benefit from the buff, so would that make it a good AoE attack power? How would you slot it?

5. What is your opinion on Touch of Fear? I grabbed it for potential set mules, and the -tohit debuff is nice, but is it worth keeping?

6. I've heard of "chainsaw builds" where Shadow Punch and Smite are simply loaded up with procs to increase single target DPS, how effective is this strategy really?

In case this would be relevant at all, I do plan on going for Spiritual Alpha for the recharge bonus, and I was originally going for perma-Soul Drain with Blaze Mastery for the delicious Fireball AoE goodness.

Thanks so much for any help! Also, if you feel like there is anything I should know about either set, please, tell me!

Well, I would say play off of each others strengths (and weaknesses). Normally, it would be great synergy to pair a /Cold or /Sonic controller with an MM, so the pets can benefit from the various buffs (and enemy debuffs). However, because the Mastermind you describe is Thermal, extra shields may be overkill, but it wouldn't hurt. Also, because of Thermals decent heals, it allows you to not focus so much on healing yourself, and focus more on control and damage. I'm thinking of you, /Cold and /Storm.

As far as Controller pirmaries, just about anyone will work well. Whatever your preference. Earth/ for exceptional control abilities, but sacrafice a little damage. Fire/ for great damage, and decent control. Even Illusion/ simply to overwhelm your enemies with pets. Really, its whatever you prefer or feel like playing.

This is just my 2 cents, and what it all boils down to, is whatever you want to play and will enjoy playing. Either way, playing off each other and covering what the other character lacks always makes for an enjoyable experience.

Hello all, I'm looking to try out a new mastermind set. Specifically, I wanted to try out /Pain because it looks like a fairly solid set. I haven't played very many MMs, but I understand more or less how they are played. In fact, I'm probably going to dip into the Presence pool to try out "Tankerminding." Now, for conceptual reasons, I wanted to pair it with a set that has minions with weapons or guns. So, you may be thinking: "Simple. Thugs." Well, I was looking into trying out Mercenaries. Yes, I know, many have mixed feelings about their effectiveness and I completely agree that the set needs help. Plus, I am aware that Thugs/Pain is a very strong set. But, I'm undecided if I should bite the bullet and stick it out with Mercs, only to regret it later and pick up Thugs?

Therefore, as you all are much more experienced with the Mastermind sets, what are your opinions regarding rolling up a Thugs/Pain vs Mercs/Pain? I'm under the impression that Thugs will always top a Mercs build, but just how effective would a Mercs/Pain be? Is there any comparison to the beast that (I've heard) is Thugs/Pain?

Thank you very much for your time and thoughts.

Now, on the flip side, if the setting is at something like x4, and you are running a team of 8 players, the missions will be set for 8 people. The level (+1,2,3, or 4) is not affected by the amount of players on a team, but the amount of mobs generally is. So, for another example, if there are say 4 people on a team, and the mission is set for x5 or higher, then the mobs will account for the mission setting, not the team size. If the team grew beyond the mission setting, the mob size will readjust accordingly, so as to keep balance.

I hope that makes sense.

Otherwise, could you imagine if the team leader had a mission set to x2, only to have a full team of 8 players? That would screw around with balance issues and mob sizes.

Then, that could lead to TF exploits, or who knows what... xD

Thanks for all the help and advice, I decided to try an Illu/Cold, and have looked through several sample builds on the forums to give me a starting point.

Thanks for the time, I appreciate it.

Thanks for all the replies.

I just have a few questions regarding some of the Cold powers. Firstly, is Frostwork worth taking? I have read on the forums on occasion that many people have mixed feelings about it.

Earth Control looks interesting, and I was thinking of either pairing Cold with Fire, Earth, or of course Ill. I really would like at least 1 pet, as was mentioned earlier.

With the shields and Arctic Fog on, I figure thats about ~23ish defence enhanced per pet and/or other player. Assuming these buffs are applied to squishy pets, such as Imps or Jack Frost, would that greatly increase their survivability?

And finally, alot of the powers in the Cold set seem to scream +recharge, how difficult would it be to perma some of these powers, such as Heat Loss most notably? 1min 30s duration compared to a 6 min recharge, that seems pretty substantial?

Thanks again for the responses.

I've been looking into rolling a /Cold Dom controller, but I'm not sure what primary to pair it with? With the new AoE effect of the ice shields coming up soon, I would really like to try out the set. I hate being a buff bot, but with the new shielding changes and all the toys Cold has to offer, I want to find a good primary to pair it with.

I understand that almost any primary will work well, and I'm not asking for a gamebreaker ultimate combo, I would just like to know what you more experienced Cold controllers have to say about different strategies and and the effectiveness of various pairings.

What's you favorite /Cold controller and why?

Thanks for the help.

It depends solely on what you wish to accomplish with the new mastery pool. For farming? Not so sure.

Hibernate is a blessed power, and is always useful to have for those "Uh oh" situations. Or, if you frequently find yourself low on hp or end (although for /kin I don't see that being much of a problem) Hibernate is a one-click quick fix.

Water spout is a power I have come to love. In my opnion, its like an alternate version of Tornado from the Storm set, except the KB isn't over excessive, and should only cause a low magnitude knockup, which can be very useful. Damage wise, a fire/kin has many other means of popping the orange numbers, but I suppose a little extra damage wont hurt. One thing I'm not certain of is whether or not Water Spout has a stun effect or not? A big difference however, is the recharge time. Tornado recharges in 1 minute, with a duration of 30secs. Water Spout is on a 4 min timer with (I believe) a duration of also 30secs.

Another pet is always a bonus, or totally unecessary, depending on your viewpoint. Not much else to say here, since I personally have very little experience with the Coralax. Very long recharge (15mins unenhanced)

Shark skin gives you resistance to smash, lethal, and cold. Straightforward.

Bile Spray just another cone attack (It is toxic dmg though).

So, in my humble opnion, if you like the looks of either Hibernate or Water Spout (the best 2 powers in the set) then sure, go for it, if you don't like it, then 'spec out. Have fun!

Hmm.. Thanks for all the points mentioned, very informative. Based on what was said, I think Plant/Storm is probably what I was originally looking for, however after doing some more reading I have realized how narrow my viewpoint was on the subject of limiting kb. I will definitely take into consideration other combos such as ill/storm, even though they may not have a -kb factor. I'm just looking for a fun storm controller project to take on, and I suppose my limited experience with a storm defender was also limiting my choice of a primary to try.

Thanks for all the responces, I greatly appreciate it.

I love Storm Summoning. I have a storm/ice defender that I thoroughly enjoy playing (hence the username) and I'm looking to try out a storm controller. I'm fairly familiar with the controller primaries, but I'm here in the forums to humbly ask for some controller advice.

Obviously, I want /Storm as a secondary. But quite honestly, I have no idea what primary I should use. I understand that there is no "wrong" combination in the game, and that any choice is a good choice. I have done some research on what primary would go well with storm, but, before I say anymore, there are some things I should point out.

1. I'm not looking for a min-max build, and while I will appreciate any and all advice, I don't need a specific level to level build. All I ask is for a good starting point as to what primary would best fit my wants.


2. On my storm defender, there were some issues that I noticed and want to accomodate as much as possible.

• First of all, the lack of -kb was annoying. I love the concept behind Tornado (and Lightning Storm to an extent, but not that serious), but the fact that it knocks things all over the place severly limits its usefulness on a defender.
• Second, endurance was a major issue for me. Yes, the new incarnate slot is beautiful for 50s, but 20-49 was a bit grueling in terms of end issues.

3. Not really sure if it matters or not, but I would like to take either ice mastery or leviathan mastery for my epic. Mostly for Hibernate and deciding between Ice Storm (because freezing rain -> ice storm is just too great a combo to give up) or Water Spout/Pet for awesomeness

I hope I don't sound too picky with what I would like, but I'm not partial to any suggestions or ideas. Thank you in advance!

I would also recommend trying a Fire Armor/Dark Melee. The synergy between the two is outstanding, as was previously mentioned. Although Fire Armor/ isn't the most defensive primary available, the heal and -tohit debuffs in /Dark Melee will pair very well, along with the ever-so-wonderful Soul Drain+ Blazing Aura+ Burn combo. /Dark Melee lacks AoE, Fire Armor/ helps fix that. Fire Armor/ sacrifices some defence for offence, /Dark Melee gives more support. It's a win-win!

Hmm, thanks for the advice. I'm really beginning to lean towards either Ninja Blade/ or Kin/ now. Personally, I never really liked the animations for Kin/ so much, but I've never tried the set before so I can't say much about that.

I've always loved DB and claws on all my scrappers, but I simply can't stand playing a Claws/* character without Follow Up and Spin. Those two powers make the set for me, and I know changes had to be made for the Stalker version, but still... =/
Even so, just my opinion.

As far as Broadsword is concerned, I love the theme (especially on a Stalker), but... the set simply isn't for me.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the reply, and yes, I realize the Stalker archetype is very single target oriented, I suppose I was originally trying to come up with a scrapper-like stalker, but I understand the folly of this now. xD I just love the stalker playstyle.

The main worry I had was related to endurance with /DA, but I really appreciate the tip with theft of essence, a very good idea. After further research, I think I'm going to go with Dual Blades as a primary. It looks like a good set, and the few cones are icing on the cake. Endurance might be a hassle, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Thanks!

Hello fellow Stalkers,
I'm looking for some advice and opinions for an upcoming Stalker concept I have. Although some have mixed feelings when it comes to Dark Armor as a secondary set for Stalkers, I have my heart set on trying it out.

Basically, my question revolves around what primary set would go well with Dark Armor? I have played several */Nin Stalkers, and have some experience with how the Archetype works. I like the way Dark Melee looks and the cones from Dual Blades are very appealing, however endurance management could be a problem. I refuse to use Claws/ or Energy/ because of how Single-Target focused the sets are, but I try to keep an open mind. Any and all opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help and time!