teflonshugenja

Pretty sure he said he's DM/FA. So Malta is probably a bad idea.

Some of the powers have slightly altered graphics so that there is a little whitish fade curling around your arm (Gloom) or tentacles that fade from white to color to dark (Soul Tentacles). But for the most part they are still dark powers. If you don't like dark powers, you won't like Soul Mastery.

There was never anything "challenging" about spamming shields/FF/SB/ID/etc. on an entire team. Nothing. There is nothing challenging about clicking on names and pressing one button over and over and over. Outside of a few corner cases like Power Boost -> Forcefields, this change has zero impact on the power potential of any set. It only reduces the amount of time a person has to spend casting buffs on other people. That is all it does.

Your complaint makes less than zero sense.

Just to clarify, redname has confirmed that these changes come with no change in the endurance cost of the powers (and presumably no change in the recharge either). It is a straight-up QoL improvement.

I am grinning ear to ear right now. My Sonic/Sonic Defender had already become my favorite character, and now I can spend less of my time clicking buffs and more of my time dispensing sweet, sweet high-decibel justice.

It's not necessary, especially since you have Dark Regeneration. For builds that have no other healing (DM/SR for example) enhancing Siphon Life's healing is more attractive. You can probably just treat it as an attack though.

Okay, not a comprehensive critique (there are others here who can do that better than I), but there are some things I noticed from your build. It's also worth noting that the three-Thystle ambush is one of the nastiest Tip missions in the game and a lot of people avoid it entirely.

First, wow. You're taking every power in both your Primary and your Secondary? I'd seriously consider dropping both Touch of Fear and Cloak of Fear, since you're not giving them the slots to really use them anyway. Especially CoF. That's something you either take and slot heavily, or skip entirely. Also, with Gloom/Smite/SL/MG and a little more global recharge you can probably just drop Shadow Punch from your attack chain entirely.

You're treating Siphon Life like a heal more than an attack. I guess you can get away with it by just leaning on Musculature and Fury, but it seems like you're not taking full advantage of one of your best attacks by underslotting for damage. This is part of your standard attack chain, not a clicky-heal.

Is there a reason that you stopped short of the fifth Apocalypse in Gloom? Purples aren't cheap but you're already looking at an extremely high-budget build here and Dark/Dark responds really well to the recharge. In fact, I see several places where you stopped short of picking up global Recharge bonuses and it seems like you're undervaluing them. More recharge (LotG 7.5%, set bonuses and Hasten) lets you cycle your best attacks faster (which in the case of Siphon Life also essentially means faster steady health recovery), gives you better Soul Drain uptime and helps ensure that you will have Dark Regen available when you need it. It's a huge benefit.

Speaking of Dark Regen, put a Theft of Essence proc in it. Seriously. It makes a huge difference.

Why the heavy slotting in Soul Transfer? Unless you are planning to die constantly you'd be better served putting those slots almost anywhere else. Also, why put a Nucleolus there at all? ST is autohit.

The third recharge in Soul Drain is only giving you a 3 second benefit. You'll get much better uptime from improving your global recharge and adding Hasten to the build.

The regenerative tissue proc in Health will make a negligible difference to your survivability compared to tricking out Dark Regen. Drop it, move the slot elsewhere.

Last, you skipped Dark Obliteration? Why? It's a phenomenal power.

Just in general it seems like your strategy is to give most powers ~4-5 slots and not to max out anything, but as a result you're missing out on a number of attractive set bonuses and have sunk slots into powers that aren't really helping you much. Do you have specific statistical goals for this build? It would help to know what you're trying to accomplish in more concrete terms.

Singularity tends to latch on to a target and grind it down, so slotting mez duration enhancements really doesn't help much - it cycles Crush and Gravity Distortion quickly enough that you'll probably never notice the difference. A little accuracy doesn't hurt (though it starts off pretty high already) and then enhance damage to the ED cap and call it done. Like Local Man said, the +10% resist bonus helps keep him alive too so that's an option. Singy really doesn't need heavy slotting.

If you're worried about Sonic/Sonic being a worthwhile teammate or a powerful character, don't worry. My defender has turned out to be the most powerful team character I've made and a lot of fun to play. Keep teammates buffed and spend the rest of the time blasting and debuffing enemies.

This is exactly what happens. I respecced out of Siren's Song and into Shockwave because of it.

On the plus side, after finishing my IO build and getting T4 on 5/5 Incarnate powers, my Sonic/Sonic beats so much face I don't need it!

Well, first we have to look at what we already have:

Alpha: Global passive enhancement
Judgement: Clicky nukes
Interface: Passive always-on debuffs that piggyback on attacks
Lore: Limited-uptime combat pets
Destiny: Self- and team-buffs that can become always-on

The connection between slot names and effects are pretty tenuous, so guessing what the remaining Incarnate slots will do based on their labels is probably pointless. They're not going to duplicate any of the existing effects with the other slots, so what does that leave?

- Single-target attacks that can complement or punctuate an attack chain. Think Total Focus or Statesman's ground punch. High damage with powerful secondary effects (status/splash/etc), recharge in the 30-second unenhanceable range (often enough to be readily available but not enough to change core attack rotations). Possibly mirrors Judgement by having both melee and ranged options.

- Placeable aoe effects. Beneficial pseudopet auras (similar to CoT crystals and DE emanators), Tar Patch-like debuff spots, pulsing damage, etc. This would be hell on graphics lag but it seems an obvious choice.

- Always-on defensive or utility boosts. A lot of this ground has already been covered by Alpha and Destiny, but there might be enough design space left for other effects. Passive auras maybe?

- Clicky godmodes, the mirror to Judgement's crashless nuke.

- Triggered effects on player defeat, a "last gasp" type power. A supernuke that only goes off when you eat pavement, or a team buff like Nemesis Lt. Vengeance, etc. Can't imagine this for anything but Omega.

As mentioned by others, you can use CoF and Death Shroud together and it works...okay. Think of CoF as an attack-speed slow and a minor to-hit debuff and it's less disappointing, but really it's just too pricey for not enough payoff. The magnitude 2 means that unless you stack it with Touch of Fear from your primary it won't be doing much to anything other than minions, and the end cost is very high. I'd skip it.

With just SO slotting Dark Armor can be an end-hog. But if you're willing to invest more heavily in it via Inventions and a Cardiac Alpha it can become a very high-performing set.

It's unreasonable to expect everyone to be intimately familiar with everyone else's opinions and suggestions. Which means that unless you only expect everyone to be intimately familiar with your opinions and suggestions (which would be even more unreasonable), it's fair to expect that when you state an opinon, you do so entirely.

That's all.

Personally, I would like to welcome our new pod person overlords.

I am extremely happy about this change. BUT (there's always a but), I have a question regarding AV kill credit.

- Does this AV change apply to Praetorian AVs in the high level CoH missions? It would seem to, which leads to my next question.
- Will defeating said Praetorians as Elite Bosses grant the relevant Badge?

It would be good to know this, so that players do not find themselves defeating the boss only to discover that they won't get Badge credit for the kill. It seems logical to assume that the change will apply to them and that the player would recieve Badge credit, but confirmation would be nice.

[ QUOTE ]
For this to be reasonable, the -same number- of zones that penalize superspeed should exist to penalize each travel power .... in a fashion that makes it take 3-4 times as long to get around in said zones as it does in a 'normal' zone using the penalized powers.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to suggest a change of perspective, here. Instead of seeing any zone that is friendlier to fliers/jumpers/'porters than speedsters as penalizing speedsters, what if you were to see them as giving the less-utilized (and they are, don't fool yourself) travel powers a boost? In which case, every zone but for those eight you list actually penalizes EVERY other travel power than SS, since SS gets around them faster and for less power investment. By that reasoning, if you really want equal treatment of travel powers, there should be MORE zones that require vertical movement!

Of course, this argument is made from a skewed perspective and is playing semantic games with the facts, but so is yours. The fact is, if getting around on foot is the baseline that zones are constructed around, then zones like Faultline and the Shadow Shard are INTENDED to be tricky to get around in, and reward players who thought ahead and chose powers that let them slice through that obstacle. And for those of you who are having difficulty because you chose not to? Get one thing straight: you CHOSE not to, and you can always CHOOSE to get a different travel power to shore up that weak point.

The devs aren't penalizing you, they're rewarding other people. The whole point of powers like Fly is that they allow three-dimensional movement. If you remove the need for that or start penalizing people for it, then people will stop choosing those powers, which leads to less diversity and a more homogenous character population. Is that what you want?

To get back on topic, the problem with zones like Faultline isn't the difficulty of getting around - the fact is, if it was worth going there in the first place, people would do it, and difficulty be damned. They'd adapt, learn the approaches, more people would choose travel powers with vert, etc. The problem is that there isn't a reason to go there. They lack content, flavor, and appropriate reward for risk (Faultline in particular is VERY dangerous for its level range). They also lack door missions and contacts. If the devs take a page from the Hollows and add contacts and door missions to these zones, create backstory for flavor, implement the Trials in those zones where they aren't active yet (i.e. Fault), and add Hospitals and vendors at the entrances to the zone, people would FLOCK to them. You'd also see more grouping, more desire for support classes, and in general a better game. The solution is content, not pandering to the min/maxers.

[ QUOTE ]
Where are the 8 zones that hose up leaping? How about the 8 zones that hose teleport? What about the 8 that hose flight? Let's keep it square. By 'hose up' I mean take 4-5 times as long to get around as when using those powers in other, non-problem zones.

[/ QUOTE ]

I heartily disagree, because these zones only penalize players who have chosen SS as their ONLY travel power. You suggest that doing this is unfair; I suggest that you haven't examined the issue closely. People who choose SS as their travel power almost always do so because it allows them to dip into the SS Power Pool for Hasten early without "sacrificing" another power to "buy-in" to a different Travel power. In other words, getting Hasten and SS is more efficient early on in terms of power selection than getting Hasten + Hover + Fly, or Hasten + Recall Friend + TP, or Hasten + Combat Jumping + SJ. Super Speed is also the fastest travel power out of the box AND has an inherent Stealth component built in. It also fits neatly into the standard pre-20 build patterns that most players adhere to, allowing them to dip into the important early powers in their Primaries and Secondaries to build a workable array of staple powers, pick up Hasten AND a travel power, and then dive into Fitness so they can get Stamina by 20. Choosing ANY other travel power early on is not only slower and harder on Stamina and the player, but interferes with the optimum-efficiency power decisions early game, and most players know that by now. Right out of the box, SS blows the other travel powers away.

...but players have to PAY for that. Super Speed gives you NO vertical movement capability, which means that getting around in zones that encourage three-dimensional movement with just SS is a pain. It encourages you to choose a different Travel power, or to invest in two. If the dev team were to "dumb down" their zones so that everywhere was as friendly to SS as they are to SJ, or made zones that penalize players for choosing a Travel power without Super Speed's mechanical advantages, there would be no reason to choose anything but SS. Hell, why not make the Oranbega tileset a flat plain and get rid of the Shadow Shard altogether? Let's make it City of Speedsters!

The way it is now, going the SS route already carries significant advantages in terms of early power selection, travel speed in the majority of zones, and universal combat utility. Everyone knows the problems with the power, but get above level 40 and I guarantee you, 90% of players have it in addition to a second, 3-D capable power. The Speed Pool just that good. Making the game even more SS-friendly is a horrible idea.

It occurs to me that I haven't weighed in on one aspect of the Gravity/Storm combination: the powers I haven't recommended. I suppose the fact that I have avoided them in this build is itself an implicit recommendation NOT to take them, but perhaps I ought to be clearer as to why.

- Crush. I did touch on this one briefly, but didn't cover everything. As a control power, this isn't so hot, but that doesn't leave it completely useless. Parsing experiments have shown that it is actually one of, if not the, best powers available to a Grav controller who wants a power to devote to damage dealing, to help with soloing (missions and the like); 6-slotting it with damage has fairly decent returns and doesn't put an undue strain on your Endurance bar. If you're interested in adding some damage dealing capabilities to your repertoire and don't want to burn a Power Pool on it, Crush is a good choice.

- Propel. The irony here is that all the resons why you might want to take Crush for damage don't apply to the power that's really ONLY good for that. Propel has a high End cost, very slow execution time, and damage that scales abysmally as your level climbs. It's a single-target nuke that sucks at nuking. The best reason to not get it is simply that it's supposed to do one thing well, but doesn't. This really is a tragedy, since it's hands-down one of the coolest powers in the set, and is often the reason many people are attracted to Gravity in the first place. I mean, you get to throw cars and forklifts! How cool is that? Sadly, the reality is truly awful.

- Dimension Shift. There are those who defend this power, but frankly I don't understand why. It's a panic button that doesn't always work (i.e. it has an accuracy check, and thus, it is possible to miss with it) and which generally will not see use more than once in a blue moon. That's not to say that it is completely useless - it's not - but that the ability to render a group of minions and lieuts immobile and unable to be affected by you or your team will hardly EVER be one you actually want to use. Ever been frustrated about that Fake Nemesis Personal Force Field? Yeah? Well that's what this does to every single opponent, only Dim Shift has the added bonus of holding them still so that you and your enemies can stare at each other, and nothing else. Until it wears off, and they shoot you in unison and you die. This power is #1 on the "The Devs need to change it if it's ever to be useful" list. Moment of Glory has more utility, and that's sad.

- Tornado. This power creates a pet tornado that does very minor damage and draws a lot of aggro - aggro that it doesn't keep, instead transferring the wrath of those PO'd mobs right to your fragile Controller skull. Not only that, it has a tendency to cause a fear effect in the mobs it attacks, prompting them to run away. It then picks a runner at random and follows him, most likely wandering near another group of mobs and aggroing THEM on you as well. There's a reason why nearly no one ever takes this power. It creates total chaos, and does nothing to mitigate the danger.

D'OH! How could I forget Fishing!?! RIKTI IN THE WALLS!

Re: SisBoomBah's questions. Well, it's ideas like these that prompted me to include the "Experiment!" note. The build is fairly modular - you can shift around the order in which you choose powers pretty easily without hurting yourself, and in the end you'll still have it all. I don't use Hurricane nearly as much as many people do, so I placed it farther down the build. If you'd rather make it a part of your early strategy, then by all means do so! Similarly, if you'd rather have the Mist/SS stealth combo going early, it's not hard to do. Pretty much the only ones that I abosolutely wouldn't change are the pre-10 powers, GDF, Singularity, and Freezing Rain. The rest are presented partly in order of importance, partly in order of preference, but primarily because it suits my preferred style of play. Yours is bound to be at least a little different, to tweaking it to suit yourself is not only possible, it's a good idea.

This is a guide, not a prison, and is only intended to present ideas. So long as you're planning ahead, customize it to your heart's content.

I'd like to note that, as with any project, this is a work in progress. I've revised some of my opinions and stances on certain powers and how they ought to be slotted, though these are ones that were already heavily influenced by my opinion. Experiment! You may find that a different build strategy works better for you. If that's the case, more power to ya!

Here are the deviations from the above guide that I currently run on my controller:

Slot[05] Level 6 : Snow Storm /EndRdx,Slow,Slow

Slot[09] Level 14 : Fly /Fly,Fly,Fly

I moved two slots from Fly over to Snow Storm, as you can see, and made a liar out of myself by putting Slow enhs in them. Fly hits a speed cap at around 4 SOs, and I find 3 to be enough for my own use after all.

As for Snow Storm, sometimes mobs just don't want to stay rooted, and for this reason stacking SS and FR helps keep them from moving around too much while you get the rest off. It's far from perfect, but I found myself not using Snow Storm very often when it was 1 slotted, and retweaked to correct that. It also helps cut down on "runners" which is something everyone appreciates.

This guide will be to my main build, Gravity Control/Storm Summoning. It is one of the best builds available for a controller who wants to focus almost purely on crowd control and doesn’t mind giving up the soloability of Illusion or Fire (both of which took a hit recently). Note that I’m writing this guide from a position where I can look back and see the mistakes that I made as well as the good choices – this guide is not to what I DID, but to what I think you SHOULD do.

All statements made herein are just my own personal opinions. If you take offense to someone airing their opinions, please stop reading now.

Gravity / Storm build:

Slot[01] Level 1 : Lift /Acc
Slot[02] Level 1 : Gale /Acc
Slot[03] Level 2 : Gravity Distortion /Acc,EndRdx,Hold,Hold,Hold,Rchg
Slot[04] Level 4 : O2 Boost /EndRdx,Heal,Heal,Heal,Heal,Heal
Slot[05] Level 6 : Snow Storm /EndRdx
Slot[06] Level 8 : Crushing Field /Acc,EndRdx,Immob,Immob
Slot[07] Level 10 : Hover /DefBuf
Slot[08] Level 12 : Swift /Run
Slot[09] Level 14 : Fly /Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly
Slot[10] Level 16 : Freezing Rain /EndRdx,Slow,Slow,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[11] Level 18 : Gravity Distortion Field /Acc,Hold,Hold,Hold,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
Slot[14] Level 24 : Maneuvers /EndRdx,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
Slot[15] Level 26 : Tactics /EndRdx,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf
Slot[16] Level 28 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[17] Level 30 : Hurricane /HitDbf,HitDbf,HitDbf
Slot[18] Level 32 : Singularity /Dmg,Dmg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
Slot[19] Level 35 : Thunder Clap /Acc,Dsrt,Dsrt,Dsrt
Slot[20] Level 38 : Steamy Mist /EndRdx,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
Slot[21] Level 41 : Super Speed /Run
Slot[22] Level 44 : Lightning Storm /EndRdx,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Slot[23] Level 47 : Wormhole /Acc
Slot[24] Level 49 : Vengeance /Heal

Gravity / Storm breakdown:

Slot[01] Level 1 : Lift /Acc
Your choices here are Crush or Lift. A single-target immobilize isn’t bad, per se, but you won’t use it much, if at all, in the later game. Lift has a quick execution time and guaranteed knockdown again most enemies, which makes it good as an interrupt – useful if you’re waiting for a hold to recharge. The damage is negligible, however, and the knockdown doesn’t need slotting, so leave it alone.

Slot[02] Level 1 : Gale /Acc
Useful in the early game, especially indoors, for knocking a group of enemies off their feet. I’m personally not a fan of it, since unless it hits every member of a mob you end up scattering the enemies, which makes AoEs more difficult. You’re stuck with it, though, so deal.

Slot[03] Level 2 : Gravity Distortion /Acc,EndRdx,Hold,Hold,Hold,Rchg
This is your bread-and-butter, so fully slot it. It’s fairly accurate already, and with Tactics later on you’ll have even more, but this is a power you’ll never want to miss with, so go ahead and add one Accuracy. Three hold durations and a Recharge/PermaHasten will let you chain-cast it on bosses to lock them down, and an End Redux takes the edge off the damage that will do to your End bar, which will already be supporting toggles.

Slot[04] Level 4 : O2 Boost /EndRdx,Heal,Heal,Heal,Heal,Heal
You’re not a solo character, so you might as well get used to using team-friendly powers. O2 Boost lets you back up the main healer of a group or, in a pinch, allows you to step in and assume a hybrid control/healer function. It’s the only Heal in the Controller secondaries that is ranged single-target, which means that it’s easier to heal the allies who need it, but only one at a time. Later in the game, it becomes very useful as a short-term protection against Disorient, which is golden in the stun-heavy late game.

Slot[05] Level 6 : Snow Storm /EndRdx
Very useful in the early game for slowing bosses and tough groups of enemies, which cuts down on incoming dps and makes the fight more manageable. Snow Storm puts enough of a drain on your End bar to make hard fights tricky if they go too long. I choose not to slot it with Slow enhances because they only affect the enemies’ movement speed, not Recharge rate, and my enemies are usually immobile already. The slots are better put to use elsewhere. It’s worth noting that in the late game, high-level Archvillains seem to really hate Snow Storm and may very well kill you for it, even if you’ve done nothing else to draw aggro.

Slot[06] Level 8 : Crushing Field /Acc,EndRdx,Immob,Immob
This sucker has an innate Acc penalty and a hefty End cost, so be sure to slot both, then add some duration to it. The recharge time is fine as-is. In the early game this will keep mobs rooted for Freezing Rain, followed by damage AoEs to take down large groups. Later on you can combine it with Thunder Clap to Stun/Root mobs when GDF isn’t up. Whenever possible, try to make sure someone else has aggro before you cast this, or you’re liable to get wasted by a salvo of ranged attacks from the mobs you just rooted.

Slot[07] Level 10 : Hover /DefBuf
Opens up the Fly pool. I choose Fly over other travel powers because it provides perfect 3-dimensional mobility, which is a godsend to a Controller who want to not only stay out of melee combat, but also needs a clear view of the entire combat. This is vital when you have to make judgment calls mid-fight of where your help is needed. If you choose to go another route, that’s all right too, but you may find your combat mobility hampered.

Slot[08] Level 12 : Swift /Run
Hurdle is good too, but with Fly as my travel power I prefer Swift, since I don’t lack for vertical mobility. If you choose to go the Super Speed route, Hurdle is a better choice.

Slot[09] Level 14 : Fly /Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly,Fly
This is my own personal opinion, truly. If you don’t like the idea of investing heavily in your travel power, feel free to place the slots elsewhere – there are plenty of powers in this build that would benefit from extra oomph. Personally, I find Fly far too useful to give up and am willing to sacrifice a few slots to maximize its utility.

Slot[10] Level 16 : Freezing Rain /EndRdx,Slow,Slow,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
This is another of your frequently-used powers, and there are a number of schools of thought on how to slot it. I choose not to slot Defense DeBuffs as most heroes have already ensured their own Accuracy is up to par, and I boost my team further with Tactics, making Defense a moot point. Two Slow enhances will nearly reach the minimum movement speed cap, which is useful since enemies usually try to scatter out of the Rain, and three Recharges plus Hasten will allow you to chain cast it with very little downtime, so you can keep the mobs debuffed constantly. The last slot is up for grabs – I like an End Redux as the power isn’t cheap to activate and I chain cast it to magnify my team’s damage output.

Slot[11] Level 18 : Gravity Distortion Field /Acc,Hold,Hold,Hold,Rchg,Rchg
This is the defining power in the Gravity set: ranged, targeted AoE Hold. It has a 2 minute downtime, so slot it with several Recharges to cut down on that; permaHasten helps a lot, too. A lot of people slot it with 2 Acc enhs to make up for the inherent to-hit penalty, but I find that using one, coupled with Tactics, is as much as I need, which allows me to use three Holds in it. This will keep a pack of +3 mobs out of commission long enough to wipe them all out with little to no risk to the group, which is the point. If you find yourself moving from pack to pack more quickly, switch out a Hold for a Recharge, but I find this configuration ideal.

Slot[12] Level 20 : Health /Heal
Second step on the way to Stamina. The difference is minor, but noticeable, and cuts down noticeably on your downtime between fights.

Slot[13] Level 22 : Stamina /EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec,EndRec
This is really a must-have for this build, since the powers I use most often are not cheap and I run several toggles all the time. It’s not necessary to six-slot it until you can buy Recovery SOs at level 30. Once that happens, however, maxing this skill out should be a priority.

Slot[14] Level 24 : Maneuvers /EndRdx,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
The buy-in to Leadership. What we really want out of this Power Pool is Tactics, so you have to choose between this and Assault. As Assault can’t really be enhanced at the moment, Maneuvers is the better choice. Coupled with Steamy Mist later on, this will help us protect ourselves and our team from enemy attacks, especially the vulnerable Blasters and Defenders that you will most likely be sharing the backfield with.

Slot[15] Level 26 : Tactics /EndRdx,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf,HitBuf
This one’s a winner. Slotted this way, Tactics can replace a single Accuracy SO in all of your powers, freeing those slots up for other enhancements. This effectively gives you an additional slot in every targeted power you have. It’s also a boon to your team, since they all get to benefit from the boost as well. I always run one End Redux in every toggle power I have, to cut down on the End drain.

Slot[16] Level 28 : Hasten /Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
This build doesn’t benefit from Hasten as much as many others do, especially damage ATs. You won’t really notice the difference until you’ve got it running permanently. Once that happens, however, it serves much the same purpose as Tactics does, by effectively adding a Recharge SO to every power in your arsenal. This makes a huge difference for powers like GDF that have long recharge times. The defense bonus is negligible but a nice bonus.

Slot[17] Level 30 : Hurricane /HitDbf,HitDbf,HitDbf
A favorite of all Storm Defenders, but we get it too. The repel effect is awesome for keeping melee types off you. Coupled with your variety of Defense boosts, this power will let you tank groups of mobs and tear a boss’s Accuracy to shreds. Keep in mind, however, that you can still get hit, and unlike a Tanker you don’t have many HP’s to spare. Be careful.

Slot[18] Level 32 : Singularity /Dmg,Dmg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg,Rchg
One of the best pets in the game. With Hasten going, four Recharge SOs will pretty much put you at the recast cap, so go ahead and slot a couple Damage enhancements in there. This will still allow you to keep three Sings up at all times, which makes for a phenomenal amount of fire-and-forget control flying around and can make normally deadly fights seem easy. Singularities are incredibly accurate, so Acc enhancements are unnecessary. If you’re not interested in damage, then consider End Redux, as the cost is hefty.

Slot[19] Level 35 : Thunder Clap /Acc,Dsrt,Dsrt,Dsrt
This helps make up for the fact that Gravity doesn’t have a second AoE incapacitate. The recharge time is 45 seconds – with Hasten that’s closer to 30, so Recharges aren’t necessary. Coupled with Crushing Field you can Stun/Root a group of mobs when GDF isn’t up, which is a godsend in drawn-out fights or when moving quickly from group to group.

Slot[20] Level 38 : Steamy Mist /EndRdx,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf,DefBuf
This is basically Maneuvers with a minor Stealth component and Resistance against some elemental and energy damage. Quite nice, really. The resistance isn’t worth slotting, but max it out with Defense Buffs to boost your group. As always, End Redux for a toggle is a good idea, and especially so for this power, as it costs more than other toggles.

Slot[21] Level 41 : Super Speed /Run
A nice travel power, and the other half of our Stealth combination. Coupled with Steamy Mist, you become effectively invisible to anything short of a sniper. Use this to jump into the middle of a group of mobs without being noticed, then drop Thunder Clap/Crushing Field as an alternative to GDF. Also good for quickly moving around with your toggles up, when Fly might be too much of a drain on your End bar.

Slot[22] Level 44 : Lightning Storm /EndRdx,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg,Dmg
Mostly for show, but it’s not as bad as most people make it out to be. It hits fairly hard, and the knockdown is useful for when things go bad in a fight and you need every tool you can get. Coupled with Singularities and you can even solo fairly well, though large groups are a risk. If you’re worried about it missing too often, switch in one Accuracy, since it doesn’t benefit from Tactics.

Slot[23] Level 47 : Wormhole /Acc
At this point, there aren’t many decent powers left to pick up. I’m not a fan of Wormhole, but Update 2 has seen its range increased significantly, which make it slightly more useful for separating individuals from a group at the start of a fight. This can also be used as a poor-man’s control power by slotting it with Disorient enhances and using it as a single-target Stun. Really though, you have better ways of doing that. This power, and the next, can be replaced entirely by something else, if you prefer.

Slot[24] Level 49 : Vengeance /Heal
Generally considered a piece of junk by most. I’ve fought against enough Archvillains to respect their ability to wipe out even high-level teams, however, and I consider it my responsibility as group controller to try and keep a bad situation from spinning completely out of control. The group heal/def/acc/dmg buff is a nice thing to have, and might prevent a single person’s death from becoming a group wipe. As with the previous power, however, this can be replaced by something else entirely, if you prefer.