g33z3r

Thanks all for the replies - I fully plan to upgrade at 50, but don't really see any effect of the immob proc atm - i should be seeing something in the combat log and i'm not even when i tested on some low lvl mobs for like 10 minutes. Ah well.

If anyone is interested I have a fully soft-capped KA/DA build in the works - not 100% happy with all the choices but this is what I have so far:

Does the Razzle Dazzle % for immob not work in Opressive Gloom? I thought I was bein oh so clever . . .

Thx in advance

My ds/poison just hit 48 and I must say I'm glad I went poison. No offense to dark -- I have several */dark MM's and I love em. And in fact the reason I went poison was because I thought (correctly) that ds/dark would be so ubiquitous.

But here's why I like poison:

With any MM, the only real tough fight (when solo anyway) will be against a very tough boss. Poison fixes that problem. As others have noted, poison is the best ST debuff set in the game, and I have found that as such it has good symbiosis with DS which itself is fairly diverse.

Yes the heal is not on par with dark. But I don't need an enemy to fire it off, and with some halfway decent slotting it fires every 3 - 5 seconds for 200+ hp, and it affects pets who arent tightly clustered.

Demon Prince with Hell on Earth and Noxious Gas is just a terror. That combo alone is worth a lot IMO.

So is it better than dark? NO, its different with a different focus. Dark chews through minions faster and no doubt more safely. I think it safe to say poison has a much easier time with very tough bosses -- the ITF I participated in the other day was very happy I was along when Rommy faceplanted with nary a challenge.

So certainly viable. I'd also concur that dark is much easier to play -- poison requires considerably more micro-management.

Just tried the deletion of the checksum file. No luck.

And yes, I already prepurchased and have a DP (or 3) on live, so that shouldn't be the issue.

And actually now I realize the problem concerns making *any* MM not just demon. I can login to existing MM's just fine but client crashes when I try to make a new one. I can make other AT's just fine.

As Alice would say, curiouser and curiouser.

I'm trying to make a demon summoning MM and client crashes every time - can choose powers, costumes, etc, but when I get to the point of entering the game, crash. I can login to existing characters fine.

Ideas?

A number of folks have asked me to post my build for Wendy the Welder so I am doing so.

Defense is softcapped at 48/46/45 and otherwise I specd for regen and HP (including accolades have 2133 HP).

The core build isn't that pricey -- you'll see some LotG sprinkled in but they are all gravy and not needed to softcap. Have an alt build that puts in an arma set and sacrifices a tiny sliver of melee def for some recharge and a nicer dam proc but haven't built it on live yet. Oh and the build doesn't use any Zephyr so the upcoming change doesn't affect it.

FWIW I'm very happy with the build as a general purpose build, but comments/questions are welcome.

Build follows:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Wendy the Welder: Level 50 Technology Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Charged Brawl

• (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
• (3) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
• (3) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
• (17) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (31) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (31) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

Level 1: Deflection

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
• (5) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
• (5) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
• (25) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

Level 2: Battle Agility

• (A) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance
• (7) Red Fortune - Defense/Recharge
• (9) Red Fortune - Endurance/Recharge
• (23) Red Fortune - Endurance
• (45) Red Fortune - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• (46) Red Fortune - Defense

Level 4: True Grit

• (A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
• (7) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
• (9) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
• (11) Regenerative Tissue - +Regeneration
• (13) Regenerative Tissue - Heal/Endurance
• (45) Regenerative Tissue - Heal/Recharge

Level 6: Hasten

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (46) Recharge Reduction IO
• (50) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 8: Thunder Strike

• (A) Eradication - Damage
• (11) Eradication - Accuracy/Recharge
• (15) Eradication - Damage/Recharge
• (15) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (37) Eradication - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Eradication - Chance for Energy Damage

Level 10: Active Defense

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (13) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 12: Hurdle

• (A) Jumping IO

Level 14: Health

• (A) Miracle - Heal/Endurance
• (17) Miracle - Heal
• (40) Miracle - +Recovery

Level 16: Build Up

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
• (19) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 18: Chain Induction

• (A) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage
• (19) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance
• (23) Touch of Death - Damage/Recharge
• (25) Touch of Death - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• (34) Touch of Death - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (43) Touch of Death - Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 20: Stamina

• (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
• (21) Performance Shifter - EndMod
• (21) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Recharge

Level 22: Against All Odds

• (A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 24: Boxing

• (A) Razzle Dazzle - Accuracy/Recharge
• (42) Razzle Dazzle - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
• (43) Razzle Dazzle - Chance of Immobilize
• (43) Razzle Dazzle - Stun/Range
• (45) Razzle Dazzle - Endurance/Stun
• (46) Razzle Dazzle - Accuracy/Endurance

Level 26: Havoc Punch

• (A) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage
• (27) Mako's Bite - Damage/Endurance
• (27) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
• (29) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• (29) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (31) Mako's Bite - Chance of Damage(Lethal)

Level 28: Phalanx Fighting

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 30: Super Speed

• (A) Celerity - +Stealth

Level 32: Lightning Rod

• (A) Obliteration - Damage
• (33) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
• (33) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
• (33) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (34) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (34) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

Level 35: Shield Charge

• (A) Obliteration - Damage
• (36) Obliteration - Accuracy/Recharge
• (36) Obliteration - Damage/Recharge
• (36) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• (37) Obliteration - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• (37) Obliteration - Chance for Smashing Damage

Level 38: Tough

• (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
• (39) Aegis - Resistance/Recharge
• (39) Aegis - Endurance/Recharge
• (39) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
• (40) Aegis - Resistance

Level 41: Weave

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

Level 44: Focused Accuracy

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

Level 47: Physical Perfection

• (A) Endurance Modification IO

Level 49: Combat Jumping

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

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

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

• (A) Empty

Level 2: Rest

• (A) Empty

Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 0: Ninja Run
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 19% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 19% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 19% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 19% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 19% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 19% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 19% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 19% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 11.1% Defense(Smashing)
• 11.1% Defense(Lethal)
• 11.8% Defense(Fire)
• 11.8% Defense(Cold)
• 12.4% Defense(Energy)
• 12.4% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 19.3% Defense(Melee)
• 17.1% Defense(Ranged)
• 15.8% Defense(AoE)
• 1.8% Max End
• 2% Enhancement(Stun)
• 18% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 45% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 10% FlySpeed
• 261 HP (19.5%) HitPoints
• 10% JumpHeight
• 10% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Held) 9.35%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 11.6%
• MezResist(Stun) 4.4%
• 7% (0.12 End/sec) Recovery
• 32% (1.79 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 1.26% Resistance(Fire)
• 1.26% Resistance(Cold)
• 19% RunSpeed
• 4.5% XPDebtProtection

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
One more comment, chilling embrace for dominators does not do -res, just -movement -recharge.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh are you sure?
I thought that was just blasters that didn't get the -dmg?

Also on the CE topic, isn't it worth it to stack hot feet + chilling embrace? I mean to slow more with less enhancements, ofc that costs a power slot + some end.

But CE + hot feet (or artic air for ice primary) seemed like nifty combos to me (haven't tried though).

[/ QUOTE ]

I did try this at one point, but CE by itself more or less floors movement for most mobs, so the hugely more expensive addition of hotfeet did not seem worth it to me.

Again, I know others run both so YMMV, but I thought the slot better used elsewhere.

[ QUOTE ]
One more comment, chilling embrace for dominators does not do -res, just -movement -recharge.

[/ QUOTE ]

AH right you are -- I didnt check that closely enough and presumed it carried over from the ice tank set, but you are quite right.

And I guess I'd call the build more mixed than ranged as such (post 33 that is); in order for CE to do anything at all you kinda have to mix it up with the monkeys after letting them grab aggro.

Actually, when solo I normally pull into a bonfire, let the monkeys start eating, then follow up with melee and ranged.

Thanks for the feedback ShrikeX; you are quite right that hotfeet is a viable choice -- its also much more expensive and I didnt see enough payoff for that trade myself, but it does have a couple advantages. I still think having both HF and CE is unnecessary but again I've seen toons with both who were very happy about it. Thoses of you who fancy PvP can imagine the wonders of stacked slow toggles -- every stone brute/tank would hate you :-)

[ QUOTE ]
Nice guide. How come you slot your imps with a recharge? I find it's almost always back up when I need them again so wouldn't it be a better slot somewhere else? Have you picked a patron yet and why?

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks. The recharge is because in larger teams the imps tend to die fairly quickly (even with the heal -- in larger teams I tend to heal teammates and let the imps die), so with a recharge I can replenish them a bit more often. But certainly its a slot that you could could put elsewhere if you chose -- I didn't have anything better to use it for at the time.

As far as PPPs, I'm still at 40 so this is speculative, but the plan is Scirroco (finished the arc already):
41: power sink (is it essential? no; but I go through quite a bit of endurance and know that power sink is a great power, particularly when boosted I think it can be a weapon as well as a buff) -- will slot with recharge and end mod 3/3
44: charged armor (armor is always useful) 3 res
47: summon guardian (because one can never have too many pets running amok) (1 Acc 3 Dam? 2 recharge)
49: since I'll almost certainly be specing out haste for flight pool in light of grandville, probably haste back here.

Alternately you could go with Mako -- waterspout should have awesome synergy with flashfire. I wanted the endurance buff so went Scirroco, but was very very close to going with Mako. In that case I'd of gone waterspout/armor/pet.

Cheers!

Just posted a humble fire/ice dom guide.

Ice:

Ice Bolt: (*). Rating kinda irrelevent cause its mandatory. Still, a useful power with good range and a nice (though hard to notice by itself) secondary effect. I slot with a single Acc.

Ice Sword: (3/5). Good power in terms of cost and DPS but it puts you into melee, which you'll generally want to avoid, and is single target. Ice Sword Circle (below), though more costly, is a PBAoE that does about the same damage. Still, at lvl 4 it's either this or Ice Sword Circle, and I'll tell you I spent 30 levels wishing I'd taken the single target sword rather than the "kill me now" Ice Sword Circle. If you do take this power I'd slot minimally (1 or 2 Acc, 1 - 3 Dam).

Ice Sword Circle: (3/5). As I alluded earlier, this is one of your 2 realistic choices for a power at lvl 4, and I went this route because I thought doing damage to multiple enemies is generally better than to a single one. Well, from 4 - 34 this really is not at all true. But it is situationally useful, and after your imps have grabbed aggro, much more so. I slotted 2 Acc/ 3 Dam.

Ice Blast (4/5): Your main attack power for most of the game. Good range, good damage, not to pricey in terms of end. Slot with 2 Acc and 3 Dam and maybe a redux.

Power Boost (5/5): The reason you took ice as a secondary. Take it, slot it (3 recharge) and use it often. Again, I'll just note that aside from making you a controllery diety, it also boosts things like Heal Other to obnoxious levels, and has great synergy boosting the slow effects of all your attacks.

Frost Breath (3/5). I skipped it. On the one hand, more damage is good; on the other if you solo, you'll want to pick things off one at a time; if you team a lot you won't want the aggro this cone will create. If you do pick it up I'd slot 1 or 2 Acc and 3 Dam.

Chilling Embrace (4/5): I power I learned to love on my Ice Tank. Chilling Embrace is a toggle that slows and debuffs (-dam) all enemies with a decent radius. Its good out of the box, but turns awesome when you boost it (mobs running toward you/away VERY slowly :-). Its also much easier on end than hot feet (by a magnitude of 10 if hero planner is to be believed). Slot with an end redux and then some slows if you've the slots.

Greater Ice Sword: (4/5). A big spikey sword. By now you'll have imps, so any damage dealt by you is gravy, but how can you not want a big spikey sword? 2 Acc and 3 Dam and maybe a recharge for slotting.

Bitter Ice Blast: Just as with Greater Ice Sword, by now you've imps so damage done by you is gravy, but unlike GIS, this one deals it at range, leaving you a bit more comfortable.
Slot 2 Acc and 3 Dam and then maybe a recharge.

+++++++

Power pools:
Fitness: Yes, you need stamina. At 20.
Travel pool largely a matter of preference. I went haste/SS for a couple reasons -- you have a bunch of powers with relatively longish recharge times, and haste helps with that (though I find myself not using haste cept before a boss). SS is somewhat useful with CE insofar as ytou can run very quickly by a mob, slowing them with CE (and thus causing aggro) while not having your SS suppressed. This tactic is actually a hangover from my ice tank where it is far more useful. I'll probably drop haste/SS in favor of AS/Flight because of grandville, where SS is a royal pain in the [censored].

I also took heal pool (aid other/aid self) for a few reasons. First, because if you are in a team, the heal always helps. And if you aren't, you can always heal your imps (they appreciate it). Second, because, as I mentioned, a power boosted heal can make people say "who just healed me for a billion points?????" And of course, a power boosted self heal can save your bacon.

I could definitely see use value in stealth pool (invisible imps), even some in leadership pool.

Pre-33 tactics:
If you are on a team, just be careful! Do NOT aggro whole spawns (which I why I say don't even take fire cages til post 33) -- your main task is neutralizing inconvenient enemies (mages, spec ops, nulls, etc) and picking off single enemies as you are able.

If solo, you'll need to divide and conquer. Char will take out 1; if you use the single target immob wisely you can normally use it to neutralize a second. The third you just kill. Then proceed to kill the other 2 (keeping one held). Remember that most enemies do far more damage in melee than ranged, and use your single target immob to your advantage.

Flashfire, once slotted and boosted, can be a great way to open a fight. But do remember than mobs seem to like being disoriented less than being damaged and will go after you when able (thats why you should boost it first).

Bonfire is great solo, as it can be made perma easily and is a great soft control. Bouncing mobs cannot attack you.

Post-33:
After you get your imps slotted, your core strategies won't change much -- you'll just have 3 little damage balls eating mobs all the time to help you do it. If you team, try to make sure they don't over-aggro the whole map, but boosted flashfire mixed with holds are still going to be your bread and butter. Now however, you'll be able to use Chilling Embrace more offensively, and run into the mobs (post flashfire) to slow them down to a crawl. Follow up with attacks (like ice sword circle and GIS) but let your pets take the heat -- they are replaceable and do not cause debt.

All in all, fire/ice is a very balanced and fun set to play, and you can take down any kind of enemy without too much of a problem. Yes, some EB's (particularly those with good AoEs) will put the smackdown on you. But you'll be more than able to solo very effectively, and be a very useful team member to boot. I hope you've enjoyed this humble guide, and of course feedback is welcome.

Build:
---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: nonsequitar
Level: 41
Archetype: Dominator
Primary: Fire Control
Secondary: Icy Assault
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Char==> Acc(1)EndRdx(3)Hold(3)Hold(5)Rechg(5)Rechg(7)
01) --> Ice Bolt==> Acc(1)Slow(9)
02) --> Fire Cages==> Acc(2)Immob(9)
04) --> Ice Sword Circle==> Acc(4)Dmg(7)Dmg(15)Acc(29)Dmg(37)
06) --> Air Superiority==> Acc(6)
08) --> Hurdle==> Jump(8)
10) --> Ice Blast==> Acc(10)Dmg(11)Dmg(11)Dmg(13)Acc(13)
12) --> Flashfire==> Acc(12)Acc(15)DisDur(19)DisDur(19)Rechg(29)Rechg(31)
14) --> Fly==> EndRdx(14)
16) --> Power Boost==> Rechg(16)Rechg(17)Rechg(17)
18) --> Health==> Heal(18)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Cinders==> Acc(22)Hold(23)Hold(23)Acc(25)Rechg(25)Rechg(27)
24) --> Aid Other==> Heal(24)Heal(27)Heal(34)
26) --> Bonfire==> Rechg(26)
28) --> Chilling Embrace==> EndRdx(28)Slow(31)Slow(40)
30) --> Aid Self==> Heal(30)IntRdx(31)Heal(34)
32) --> Fire Imps==> Acc(32)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Dmg(33)Acc(34)Rechg(37)
35) --> Greater Ice Sword==> Acc(35)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)Dmg(36)Acc(37)EndRdx(40)
38) --> Bitter Ice Blast==> Acc(38)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)Acc(40)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Domination==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
---------------------------------------------

I'm adding this guide for variety, and because there just aren't many fire/ice dom builds out there. I also hope to make a few observations that have helped me play and thoroughly enjoy doms as an AT.

Preface: This is not a basic introduction to the dom AT -- if you want that look elsewhere; there are plenty good ones. I assume you know that a dom is not a troller or a blaster or a hybrid twixt the two but rather a unique set in and of itself. I also assume you know what domination is and does. I'll also add that I've never understood the idea that dom's are deficient in any way -- my fire/ice dom solo's relentless handily and is very useful on teams.

Introduction:
Why fire/ice? Imps and control.

Fire:
All the dom primaries have essentially similar powers -- at least one single target hold, at least one (normally two) immobs, an AoE hold, one misc control (sleep or confuse or disorient) and one soft control (knockdown, etc). All except mind have a pet at 32 (and mind's aoe confuse makes up for that). The main difference between fire and other primaries is that imps are very simple creatures -- their aptitude for damage is unmitigated with attempts to help you control. And they have GREAT aptitude for damage.

Ice:
Ice is a great secondary for several reasons, the biggest of which is power boost, which as I'm sure you know, greatly increases the effects of all your controllery powers (holds, immobs, slows, disorients, even heals). Power boost is what lets your imps shine -- with it you won't need any help controlling mobs, and you can let the imps do their job. More, with power boost on, your slow toggle (via Chilling Embrace) changes from noticeable to devastating.

On to the powers! I'll just rate and put a small description next to each.

Primary powers:
Ring of Fire (4*/5): Underrated power. Up until about 32 I used this power all the time for damage mitigation. How can a single target immob be used for damage mitigation? Easy. Immob a mob and then back around a corner. If it can't see you it can't hit you. This power has a bonus to acc and a good immob length out of the box. If you use it with power boost, you won't need more than 1 acc in it. Also useful for pvp because single target immobs have higher effectivity than aoe immobs.
I did eventually spec it out in favor of fire cages post 33, partially because you'll be teaming with other classes who have lots of aoes and the aoe immob is useful in those scenarios, and because the imps will help diffuse any aggro (by killing everything) you'd have gotten using an aoe immob.

Char: (5/5). Standard wonderful single target hold. I like the standard 2 acc/2 hold/ 2 recharge slotting.

Fire cages: (3/5). See above discussion concerning immobs. Useful later in the game, death sentence earlier than that. Slot with an Acc or two.

Smoke: (3/5). A useful power that I dropped and do not miss. The great part is that it does not cause aggro, and applies a nice debuff. This power is more useful with bigger teams, and less useful in smaller teams or solo. If you did get it I'd slot with a tohit debuff and not much else.

Hot Feet: (2/5). Not a bad power, but an endurance hog, and redundant with Chilling Embrace. I have seen people who run both, and I tried it on test, but did not feel like running both really added much, so I dropped it. If you were going to get it I'd slot with at least 1 end redux.

Flashfire: (5/5). Great power, even more so if combined with Fire Cages. Don't be bummed by its lackluster performance at first -- when slotted and power boosted, it rocks! Slot a standard 2 Acc/2 Disorient/2 Recharge.

Cinders (4/5). Good power -- effectively similar to flashfire but with a longer recharge (and alas no, they don't stack: flashfire is disorient and cinders is a hold). Standard 2 Acc/2 Hold/2 Recharge slotting.

Bonfire (3*/5). Great but situational power. Awesome knockback -- note that it is knockback and not knockdown, and this can really tick off teammates if used incorrectly. 3 situations in which this power shines: 1) pin a boss or whatever in a corner; 2) protect the squishies; 3) escape valve (plant a bonfire behind you when team engages enemies -- if things go very wrong everyone retreats through bonfire).

Fire Imps: (5/5). The reason you picked fire. I cannot possibly stress just how good the imps are. Slotting: I went 2 Acc/3 Dam/1 recharge. I don't think you need a third Acc in there (they rarely miss) and the recharge helps for larger team play when the imps tend to get killed my larger spawns.
One note: the imps do have a tendency to go crazy and over-aggro things. Don't be afraid to release them if they start being too naughty -- you are still a great dom even without them.

Ice next post.