imported_Vyriss

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A softcapped /Nin Stalker has more staying power than any /SR Scrapper, with slightly lower DDR but alot more toys to play with (including a burst self heal)

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Interesting. How would you guys rate the damage capabilities of a Stalker vs Scrapper (on teams and solo)? Haven't heard many Stalkers soloing AV's, myself.

Just curious what the Scrapper community thinks about Stalkers. Don't hear much talk about it when comparing Melee archetypes (always Scrapper and Brute).

Hello, everyone. I've decided to make another corruptor. I'm fairly decided on Sonic/ as a primary, but still contemplating my secondary powerset.

What I'm going for here is the most survivable and aggressive combo I can go with. I know my choices for secondary seem a bit unorthodox - /Pain, /Cold, and /Kin - but I'm fairly sure I can get one of these secondaries to work. I've played /Rad /Dark and /Storm extensively, so I'd really like to keep it between the above choices.

So here's my thoughts so far. I'm not familiar with the IO's set bonuses (Just coming back from a rather lengthy break - about i9 or so), so any help on that front could be useful. For instance, I've heard its possible to cap Ranged defense? Lastly, I've also not taken account the Patron Power Pools, although I would consider Soul Mastery for Soul Drain and Dark Embrace.

Sonic/Pain - With the -res from sonic, along with Anguish Cry, coupled with the +damage from World of Pain, it seems like I could get some fairly impressive numbers. My survivability would hinge on the effectiveness of World of Pain, along with Nullify Pain and Soothing Aura. I haven't run any numbers, so my theory is purely speculation.

Sonic/Cold - This one seems like the AV soloing build if I were ever interested in that (always a possibility ). Sleet and Heat Loss both come with some hefty -res numbers, which could add to the -res from Sonic. (The -res cap is 300%, right?). Benumb would bring the -regen that would qualify it for AV soloing. The -recharge and slows should also benefit my survivability. Also, is Heat Loss effective enough to replace Stamina?

Sonic/Kin - Well, we have Siren's Song coupled with Fulcrum Shift, leading to a fairly harmless approach at capping my damage. The -res from Sonic would only add more damage, which is always good. The reliance on Transference could help me skip the Fitness pool, maybe leading to the Fighting pool (Tough?). That, combined with my Patron Power Shield seems like it could make me pretty tough. I'd also have Transfusion to lean on.

So, here's what I'm asking. I'm quite intrigued on the relevance of set bonuses, and the possibility of filling in weaknesses in each combination. Assuming my character was level 50, which combo would be my best bet taking in consideration each pair's ability to fill in it's weaknesses? I'd be split between soloing and teaming, mostly. PvP is not really a concern here. I'd prefer if I could take down Elite Bosses, but am quite OK with teaming for an AV. Thanks for any help!

I'd go with Radiation. The sound effects of Energy don't really mesh with being hit by light. The Radiation animations and graphics seem more subtle, which to me, goes with your concept more.

Not only that, but you get X-Ray Beam

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Masterminds heat things up with Thermal Radiation

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[censored]

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Am I missing something here? Where was this quoted from? Are you suggesting that it's "confirmed" that we're getting thermal?

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http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/gam..._overview.html

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While I concur about the need for claws for brutes. I feel I should point out that Marvel sued this game once before. Imagine what they would do, if they saw a video of a short, hairy guy with claws, slicing into a few hellions, doing more damage because he was gaining fury in a beserker type way.

Its bad enough we have the Gazillion and 4 clone wanna-be's as scrappers and stalkers.

But, like I said. I am all for more options. Just thinking not so much on the going to happen.

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Except that... the case between the two was settled. No worries there.

Claws4Brutes!

I thought the same thing when I took them out in a matter of seconds (Fire/WP). They are definitely much weaker than the average Hero, unfortunately

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Skewed way to mention that. I have end issues now, because I do in fact have them. It's not perception. As i've said repeatedly in terms of Psy Assault, i have 1 End slotted towards each Control And Attack power, Drain Psyche, Power Sink and Stamina and my IO Sets while having +Rech also carry a lot of +Rec and +End. While playing a modified version of the way I used to, meaning spamming less PSW and Fire Cages to lessen End burn I'm noticing a harder End bite then previous. Now I got it, balance reasons and all there should be more and I agree, I just thinks that it's a tad too much is all.


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I don't understand... There's no justification for wanting to be able to spam Fire Cages (15.6 end) and PSW (18.51 end). Those two combined will take up about 1/3 of your endurance bar in one cycle. That's whats taking up the chunk of your endurance, not the subtle increase (1-3 points) in your regular attacks. Am I missing something?

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With your current PSU you're NOT going to be able to support a GTX280. About the beefiest card you can put in there is a GTX260. And even then, you're probably straining the system's power envelope.

Depending on what you've got in the system, (assuming 2 high speed SATA drives, a DVD burner, 3 LED fans, high performance board with on-board sound and NIC, PLUS the GTX260 you're looking at approximately 381W at 100% system utilization.

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I have 1 7200rpm HD, a DVD Burner, no LEDs, on-board sound, and yes, a network interface controller (NIC). Pretty simple, actually.

So, looking at the prices, a GTX 260 look likes it runs ~$180. Not bad. How would a GTX 250 run, compared to the 260? Major difference?

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.1.1.7---

DxDiag gathered at July 1, 2009 21:54 (-07:00)
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7077) (7077.winmain_win7rc.090404-1255)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: EP43-UD3L
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Central Processor: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5200 @ 2.50GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.7GHz
Memory: 4096MB
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Page File: 6523MB (1663MB currently in use)
C Drive: (WDC WD3200AAKS-00L9A0 ATA Device) 243695MB out of 305141MB (79%) free
D Drive: (PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-116D ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 6.01.7077.0000 (64-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor:
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer / Chip: ATI Technologies Inc. / ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x944C)
Video Memory: 2297 MB
Driver Version: 8.612.0.0
Driver Date: 4/29/2009 1:47:30 AM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.01.7077.0000
Driver Date: 4/4/2009 5:06:05 PM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: EP43-UD3L
Motherboard Version: x.x
BIOS Manufacturer: Award Software International, Inc.
BIOS Name: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Version: GBT - 42302e31
BIOS Release: 20090113000000.000000+000

Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1360x768
3D Resolution: 1360x768 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes

Physics Quality: Medium
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No

Anti-aliasing: None
Anisotropic Filtering: None
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Low Quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High

World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 2.000
Entity Detail Level: 2.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Gamma Correction: 1.000
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of Extra Player FX Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
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Audio Mode: Performance
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Music Sound Volume: 0.600

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.600
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 500511 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 19.20090619.2T
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

Hello, all. I've decided to update my machine with a better GPU for anticipation of some new games coming out this year (Starcraft 2 and Supreme Commander 2), and to hopefully solve the numerous graphical problems I've experienced with CoH.

I currently have an HD4830, and looking at Nvidia this time, but not exactly sure of the best Price/Performance ratio cards out there. I want to run CoH in all its Glory (High on everything), and the same with Starcraft 2. So, what should I be looking at? I'm hoping to spend less than $200, and I have an Enermax Power Supply.

What would you guys reccomend?

Well, the /Fire brute will have capped resists against fire, essentially nullifying ~90% of the scrapper's offensive capabilities. Although there's some lethal/smashing damage somewhere in there, I say easy win for the Brute.

Any other thoughts? I'd be interested in the conclusions as well.

Cool. Thanks for the advice, everyone. I actually tried out quite a few different brutes to ~level 12 to get a feel for them. Willpower and Shield felt the sturdiest, probably because of the extra HP boost. With Fire, I found myself using Healing Flames almost constantly, which isn't something I enjoy. I think I prefer a more "hands-OFF" secondary. SR is already known to be a late bloomer, and it shows.

Also, in a strange turn of events, I tried an EM/SR brute, which was also quite fun. How does Energy Melee stack up to DM? I was thinking of maybe EM/WP or EM/Shield as a second brute.

Ok, I just watched Werner's /SR scrapper in a video. I think my choice is Super Reflexes, lol.

Ok, so I've narrowed it down to /Fire and /SR.

I'd have to say I prefer the mechanics of Defense rather than Resistance, which inherently makes SR more appealing than Fire.

Still, I'd like to know whether SR maintains its defensive edge against Fire in the higher levels. With Healing Flames on a relatively short recharge, and Siphon Life, does Fire ever compare to SR?

I guess what I'm asking is if SR > Fire is true the entire game, since Fire obviously edges it out in damage potential. Then, my decision would solely be based on whether I want a tougher character, or a more damaging.

Not many mentions of Willpower/SR, which is quite the opposite of the discussions on the forums... Interesting.

Elec armor seems to put up better resist numbers than Fiery Aura, so that may be an option. Although, I have a question: For Grounded, the passive do you have to be *on* the ground, or can you use hover (being close to the ground)? The power just says near, but I just wondered, since I usually pick up hover for my toons.

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DM/shield is sick on a scrapper, I'll be rolling one as a brute when I get the slots.

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I actually prefer to avoid Shield due to the clipping that occurs with my costume. I know, minor, but it really annoys me.

Well, as long as the stalker is in range for Assassin's Strike when he starts, he'll hit it no matter how far they move after.

In continuing with my suffering altaholicism, I've decided to make a Brute for my next character. I've pretty much decided on Dark Melee, but I need more insight on the secondaries.

I've never (seriously) played a non-squishy AT, so I should be in for quite a welcome. The secondaries I'm considering are Super Reflexes, Fiery Aura, and Willpower. All seem to mesh well with DM, so I need some help fleshing the pros/cons of each set out.

From me hawking over the forums, I've learned that Dark Melee is lacking in AoE damage, so my first thought was to go with Fiery Aura. The damage aura, combined with Burn (when an AoE immob is present) should help alleviate the lack of serious AoEs. Fiery Aura has a record of being pretty squishy, but I have my suspects that the difference in performance between secondaries would are highly overstated when coming from a squishy. Even then, Siphon Life and Healing Flames should cater to it's weak resists. I also hear that tough/weave are almost required.

Willpower, from what I can see, is one of the most survivable brutes out there. I'd have two endurance recovery powers, which should make me pretty sufficient in the endurance department. It also has incredibly high regeneration and some decent resists. Siphon Life would also accelerate my health bar's return to the green when hit with a hard alpha strike, which I hear is Willpower's weakness. The to-hit debuff from Dark Melee would also make a (small) impact on the time between hits, enabling my regeneration to do it's thing. Tough/Weave don't seem to be the norm on this combo.

Super Reflexes, besides being a super-tight build, also seems like it would be the toughest, enabling capped defense relatively easily. Again, the to-hit debuff would only help my defense, and the debuff resistance combined with Siphon Life seems like my character would be nearly indestructible (besides the rare unlucky streak ).

So, that is where my question lies. Is the increased defense in SR and Willpower worth the trade-off for a little AoE damage, which is where DM seems to be lacking. Like I said, I've never rolled a "tough" AT, so I'm not very knowledgeable in the importance for such defenses in the late game. Thanks for reading my long post!

Why is the stalker striking first? Let the brute charge in, get some aggro, and gain fury while the Stalker uses his Assassin's Strike after the alpha strike is gone. Not only is this safer for the stalker, it gives the brute his much needed fury to perform at his best. Statistically, the stalker "looses" nothing by not perform AS first, while the brute does.

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Any WP dos and don'ts? Do take this, don't take that. Do slot this, don't slot that. That sort of thing?

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I'd like to know this too. There is a distinct lack of Willpower info for Stalkers, for some reason.

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What type of PvP?

Not that it matters too much. While /nin isn't bad for zone PvP, /WP is probably the best all around for what you're looking for

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I would imagine mostly Arena duels. Willpower just seems like such an odd set. It doesn't seem like it excels at anything, managing moderate regeneration, with defense/resistance mixed in. How does this perform in real-life tests?

Hey, I'm starting a new stalker and have pretty much decided on Dark Melee as my primary. The secondary, however, is proving to be much harder to choose. As I understand it, Dark/Nin is quite powerful in PvE - and quite laughable in PvP. What I'm looking for is a good secondary that would be sufficient in both PvP and PvE. My primary focus will, of course, be PvE but if/when I get the urge to participate in a little PvP, I don't want to feel subpar.

Of course, I have researched the primaries quite a bit, and this is what I could garner so far:

Ninjutsu is considered to be near the top of primaries for PvE due to its loose build (only two toggles?) and utility. The set also makes it easier to stay in hide. It also has a good heal.

Regeneration is pretty decent in PvP due to the "twitch" of it, enabling some good regeneration, dull pain, and reconstruction. It's performance largely depends on the player's ability to respond to the enemy's strike. It also seems like it would be a more consistent experience than a defense set.

Willpower seems... Weird, to say the least. In it's stalker incarnate, it's largely a resistance based set. I'd have to say that this is the secondary I understand the least.

Any other opinions? I realize what I'm asking is a pretty loaded question - "What's the best set for PvE AND PvP" - but anyone else have any opinions? Thanks in advance!

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I do not understand this "A' pistol concept. What do you mean A? Like as in only one?

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A ___ concept, Pistol is the adjective involving the singular "concept".