Thank you. Just started working on my warshade and it seems you have prevented a few pitfalls for me.
I hope so. I could have written a basic step by step guide on each power but I don't think that's very useful. Dark Detonation is nice but is it great? I didn't feel so. I could have wrote about Gravity Field and the other resistant toggle powers but the end drain is pretty steep even without them let alone with them.
I 've taken a Warshade up to lvl 43 and most of it was human form (all but the last 7 lvls where I respeced and went strickly Nova). My first Warshade I deleted at lvl 24 becuase I had tried to go a mix Nova, human, dwarf form. It didn't work.
If your trying to go the jack of all trades master of none your not going to be good at anything and I think that sucks worse than being really good at one thing and not so good at the others.
I'm a high damage Warshade. Not many compete against him. For sheer unadultrated damage he is second to none. When I ask to get on a team it's what I state" "I'm a high damge Warshade." Over a period of time a few Tanks have gotten to know me and when I get on now I get the request. Missions fly by and are quicker with me then without. Find a role and stick with it. You'll be much happier with your Warshade if you do.
Honestly, I find your guide condescending and insulting...
But thats just me.
When something good happens to me, I can never enjoy it....
I am always too busy looking for the inevitable punchline...
BEHOLD THE POWER OF CHEESE!
Nice guide for a nova-based warshade. Similar to what I plan to do.
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Honestly, I find your guide condescending and insulting...
But thats just me.
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aww did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?
i find he has some good points.
Awsome post man.... wish it was written a few weeks a go...
Great Job 
I got my Warshade up to 25 atm and DOing a Heavy Nova ( 6 slot stam recharge ) slotting and for the attacks ( 6 slotting the AE's and the Heavy dmg. only 2 slotting the moderate one) ... only slotting DE, Quazar, Eclipse for human ( 6 each in various arangements) and then for dwarf 6 sloting 4/2 dmg res and end recovery and 6 slotting the 2 attacks and the heal and only default slots on the rest.
only quesiton i got is for DE how long do our pets lat? and how many could i get up at a time with a 3/3 dmg/rech slotting on the power?
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Honestly, I find your guide condescending and insulting...
But thats just me.
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aww did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?
i find he has some good points.
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Points good, tone stinks.
Moth Twiceborn, Slan, Mr. Long
Jane Droid, 43 Earth/Emp, Alix Frost, 43 Ice/Eng
Warlock Krelleth, Level 50 Zombie Mastermind
Virtue Server
"Some people find fault as if it were buried treasure"
I was actually thinking of using the nova till I respeced and going all human... holy geez, I didn't realize how bad that idea was till I read this! I want that "High Damage Warshade" title too, I've been support with my main for 7 months, it's time I move on to full assault!
thank you for writing this 
Something important that wasn't covered..... how the forms work!
When you pick your nova form at 6th level you don't just get one power, you get five powers! Dark Nova will pop up in your primary power list and four blast powers will appear on your inherent list. This also means a lot more slots to fill and a lot harder choices to make when you get more slots.
You can only use those 4 new inherent powers when you activate nova form, which takes two or three seconds. When you are in nova form, no human power will work for you. And by that I mean NO HUMAN FORM POWER - including auto powers like stamina. Even most temp powers will not work in nova form. (Vahz disease still works fine, though. Arg!)
While slotting up your nova powers is important, do not neglect slotting the nova form power itself. While you can't use Stamina in nova form, you've actually got something like it already built in and endurance recovery enhancers can boost that effect. You also get a to-hit bonus which can be enhanced.
Travelling as a Warshade is a dream once you get to 6th. Teleport most of the way then, when your endurance runs low (or you get near a place where you know there will be nasty lag, like Talos tram station), switch to nova form and fly. You can switch back to teleporting, too, but you fall quite a ways before the first teleport fires off.
Oh, another thing on travel.... dwarf form has a teleport much like the human form. However, dwarf form has a little stamina recovery so it's actually a little better to teleport around in dwarf form. (Plus you have free resists if you teleport into something nasty!) If you want to slot the teleport travel power, I would suggest slotting the dwarf form's port instead of the human version.
It's downright vital to set up a keybind for switching forms. Put your nova form powers on tray three then set up a hotkey to do "goto_tray 3$$powexec_toggleon Dark Nova" and another to do "goto_tray 1$$powexec_toggleoff Dark Nova$$powexec_toggleoff Dark Dwarf". Make that last one a real easy key to hit, you'll need it when you get stunned out of a form and want your main power tray back.
Just for my edification...
Stamina doesn't work in Nova form. Is the same true for Dwarf form?
OK i need to get this clear No human power's work in Nova form. Ok i get that but Cuddles says.....
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Yes, its Eclipse. This power when you jump into a big mob and launched will turn your unresistant POS into a virtual 85% resist Tank. If your human form this is a God send and makes you viable (kind of) but if your Nova form this has made you epic. Mobs of Reds will fall before you as you and your pet Souls as you unleash death from above. You will slaughter all that come before you on a mass scale. Blasters will stop and look on in envy as you wade from one mob to the next slaughtering all those that come before you. Pop two disciplines and take on Purple Bosses without a care in the world. Paragon Protectors will fall to your might. You are unstoppable, you are Epic. Five Recharges makes this perma. Take this power and nothing shall stand before you. If your Dwarf Form only, this power wont help you much except to get some endurance.
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so that would say to me that you still get the 85% resist of Eclipse in Nova form? if u change to it in time.
I really wont to know if thats true as that is my plan, to use the Shadow Cloak with SS run in use Eclipse and Sunless Mire then go to Nova form and waste the lot
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so that would say to me that you still get the 85% resist of Eclipse in Nova form? if u change to it in time.
I really wont to know if thats true as that is my plan, to use the Shadow Cloak with SS run in use Eclipse and Sunless Mire then go to Nova form and waste the lot
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Just for my edification...
Stamina doesn't work in Nova form. Is the same true for Dwarf form?
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Click powers (like Hasten & Eclipse) carry over to the two forms but Auto powers (like Stamina & Absorption) and Toggle powers (except the form) don't.
Eclipse works regardless of form. It probably would turn the nova form into a death machine, but what the op fails to mention is that without any shields you're gonna get mutilated before you get both Sunless Mire and Eclipse off.
In the end your DPS takes a serious hit due to constant form shifts (Sunless lasts 30 secs. Eclipse lasts 90 secs. Then you must renew each. IF you don't drop form every 30 seconds to renew Sunless then you're wasting the benefits of Eclipse.) and xp debt and you end up getting back down to the level of a human form WS.
However this setup would be effective if you always travel with a good tank, but then again, you wouldn't even need Eclipse then for anything except end recovery.
To top all this off. Eclipse offers absolutely no protection vs Stuns, Mezes, Holds, etc so don't be attempting to hunt anything that does that without a team. So... That's every villian group post 40 save Praetorians off the solo friendly menu.
All in all this guide could be effective in a teamed environment, but so could every other AoE blaster out there.
Sailor eX
"Not in the face!"
<sigh> Viv says its no longer "all me".
http://wendy-mags.mybrute.com/
I'm adding a little here.
Gravitic Emanation when slotted up offers a very long stun period. I actually like this power better than Gravity Well as you don't have to even get close to use this power.
Toril made a point about constant Form shifts but I want to point out how I do this without constant slaughter.
I use SS and Shadow Cloak to get into the mix hit Eclipse, then Sunless Mire, and then Nova Form. Once you get the 85% resist your good to go. I don't drop out of the Form constantly after this as the above poster stated DPS would suffer. I have made great use of the medicine pool. It keeps me rolling along. Usually when it comes to getting held I have two pets wailing on the subject. This more times than not saves my butt.
In Issue 4 some big changes are coming for the Warshade. This might actually make the Human Form much more user friendly.
Toril made a point about groups and a Tank. He's right I do run with a Tank and big teams. Your constant AOE's you can throw off in Nova Form is a godsend to any large team.
I haven't tried my Warshade in PvP yet but I will. Some of the things that have me worried is that alot of the Warshades powers are built around dead bodies.
Thank you to those who posted here providing further indepth detail to some of the things I have skipped. If you have good points are strategies that work for you or even further insight on the subject please add it here. I would appreciate it as I am sure others.
Excellent Guide Cuddles. I started off wanting to make a nova-centric warshade and it is nice to know that there is a way to make this really work well.
I agree 100%. I had a human form WS at lvl 22 at max debt. I've never been at max debt. Even with my blaster.
So I'm rerolling.
If you could give me some advice on how to slot nova it would be appreciated.
hey i was wondering if you plan on redoing this now that I4 is live.
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The Fitness pool is by choice only. If youre going Nova route Stamina will be of little use. I would suggest slotting your Nova form if you have chosen that with an end reducer and then some Stamina building ones. Still you will notice you are an endurance drainer and will have problems in that area.
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A note about this: Slotting Nova for End Reduction DOES NOT reduce the END it costs to fire off a Nova attack. It merely reduces the amount of END it costs to activate Nova, which is miniscule to begin with. You would have to put an END reducer into each attack to lower the cost of each one. Slot Nova form with END Recovery and/or ToHit Buffs.
I'm a little confused, having got my human-only Warshade to level 6 so far, and quite easily I might add:
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At lvl 6 you get your first form power if you so choose. If you decide to go the whole human only route you are in for a very hard road indeed.
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I've not had a problem, despite the fact that I want to be an AoE/pet Warshade, so the only attacks I have are the base blast attack (1-slot, TO accuracy) and Orbiting Death (1 slot, TO end reducer). Have Gravity Shield 3-slotted (defense TOs).
I can go through three even cons in short order, solo yellows decently enough, and even two yellows at a time with patience. 4-5 blues, and all the greens I have patience for.
I would have to ask the author, have you ever played a controller or a low-damage/high-end scrapper like Claws/DA? An all-human Warshade to me feels like a "aggressive controller" so far, though far more effective than either Claws/DA or any controller at this level.
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Between lvls 1-13 you still do not have a power to deal with Voids and Quantums.
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Haven't seen a Void yet (thank goodness) but three Galaxy Quantums later and nothing to it. My attack sequence is:
--Turn on Orbiting Death (Gravity Shield runs full-time)
--Teleport right in front of the Quantum. Right after clicking the teleport, immediately click the blast to queue it up.
--Blast away.
So far for blue and white-conned they are dead before they can even punch me a couple times.
Voids, that's another story...not looking forward to THAT.
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If you have stuck with human form youre damage isnt getting any better in fact its getting worse.
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To an even-conned villian the damage seems decent enough. It's not blaster-strength but it's decent.
Again I have to wonder if the author has ever played things like Defenders, Controllers, Claws/* at these levels. Personally I have, and find the Warshade equipped for the task despite my intentionally odd slotting. Far more fun than this guide led me to believe.
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Orbiting Death sucks so much end that even with three endurance reducers it doesnt help.
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I guess my experience with *DA/Death Shroud gives me perspective. Orbiting Death is no worse than Death Shroud, which my Claws/DA finds very handy and overall helps DPS despite the endurance drain. I find the same is true of Orbiting Death.
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Your main damaging attack powers dont do damage at all but more like little ticks against a big elephant
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Well, if you're used to playing Invincible on huge teams, I suppose it might seem that way. I had planned to team my Warshade eventually, but only once I had a few more damage-dealing powers (and things like Sunless Mire to help out). For now, solo'ing seems safer. Also means I can adjust to playing a Warshade, which is alot different than the non-Epic ATs.
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In Human form you notice one thing and one thing only; you are out of endurance and you are dying way too much. I would not suggest the Human form
ever.
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I'm having fun with it, albeit solo. It'll be nice once I get equipped enough to team. I'd like to hear the OPs thoughts on the solo-versus-team as well as their experience with other ATs. I think this FAQ kinda too easily dismisses the all-human Warshade out-of-hand. I decided to go that route *despite* this guide (and I did read it while researching Khelds) and I found the all-human route so far to be quite enjoyable and alot more powerful than I would have guessed.
CURRENT MAINS: Akero (V) | Polly Spark (V) | Project MALWARE (V) | Barium Bunny (VIP)
ACTIVE INCARNATES: Polly's Revenge (V) | Stygian Kitten (V) | Archon Abrasax (V) | Alpha Antares (V)
Felines | Wolves | Avians | Bovines | Griffons | Centaurs | Insects | Robots
What, you really think HUMANS are going to save the world? LOL!
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My first Warshade I deleted at lvl 24 becuase I had tried to go a mix Nova, human, dwarf form. It didn't work.
If your trying to go the jack of all trades master of none your not going to be good at anything and I think that sucks worse than being really good at one thing and not so good at the others.
I'm a high damage Warshade. Not many compete against him. For sheer unadultrated damage he is second to none. When I ask to get on a team it's what I state" "I'm a high damge Warshade." Over a period of time a few Tanks have gotten to know me and when I get on now I get the request. Missions fly by and are quicker with me then without. Find a role and stick with it. You'll be much happier with your Warshade if you do.
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ROFL! i use triform, i can still hit the damage cap in nova, plus if i draw unwanted aggro i can swap to dwarf and live.
soloing the tri form is king, i can AoE in nova, swap to dwarf and garther them back up dwarfstep away change back to nova and finish them off. to say tri form is a jack of all trades and a master of none is an utter fallacy. in nova i can do all the damage anyone else can do in nova...in dwarf i have max resist simply with 4 slots(3 +3 SO's will max, but i do not always have +3's) plus with dwarf i can double mire and hit the damage cap with fewer enemies, so in many cases because i have an additional mire, i can outdamage a no form or nova-human dual form, and have better survivability. just a little addition...with dwarf simply close to melee with a Q and pound him to death..yes it is that simple. V's can still hurt you, but you can still take them out. and for the record i have been taking q's out from day one with my shade.
after looking over the OP again i can only say the author seems to think since he cannot play tri form no one can, and is seriously incorrect.
I am working on my all human Warshade build on test for the coming of I5. I must say I am truly impressed so far. I actively hunted voids with my 3 form build. I picked up stealth and super speed to always have alpha against them. With a +1-+3 void it was always a who saw first issue. I see them first they loose, they see me first 50% I loose. Using the level 34 respec my all human build went toe-toe with a +2 void wihtout using stealth, and walked away the winner (35% health left) My 50 is a Defender set up for solo play, so I am not used to "massive damage," however I think I'm pretty uber right now. The amount of controlles I have plus defenses I think will make up for the I5 changes.
This is my build I am testing an will go live with.
Archetype: Warshade
Primary Powers - Ranged : Umbral Blast
Secondary Powers - Support : Umbral Aura
01 : Absorption damres(01)
01 : Ebon Eye acc(01) dam(3) dam(5) dam(13) dam(15) dam(17)
02 : Gravity Shield damres(02) damres(3) damres(5) damres(7) damres(9) damres(11)
04 : Orbiting Death endred(04) acc(31) dam(31) dam(31) dam(34) dam(34)
06 : Shadow Blast acc(06) dam(7) dam(9) dam(11) dam(15) dam(17)
08 : Combat Jumping endred(08)
10 : Hurdle jmp(10)
12 : Sunless Mire acc(12) recred(13)
14 : Super Jump jmp(14)
16 : Shadow Cloak endred(16)
18 : Gravity Well acc(18) dam(19) dam(19) dam(21) dam(21) dam(23)
20 : Health hel(20)
22 : Stamina endrec(22) endrec(23) endrec(25) endrec(25) endrec(27) endrec(29)
24 : Stygian Circle recred(24)
26 : Gravitic Emanation acc(26) recred(27)
28 : Inky Aspect endred(28) endred(29)
30 : Acrobatics endred(30)
32 : Dark Extraction acc(32) dam(33) dam(33) dam(33) dam(34)
(H)Dark/Rad, Rad/Psi, Spine/Regen, Ice/EM, Psi/EM, Earth/FF,
(V)EM/NIN, Bots/FF, Fire/Rad,Fire/Fire, Earth/Fire, Grav/Energy
@Angus.Black
You hit the nail on the head I got my WS up to 22 and am doing ok, but comming from a almost impossable to kill earth tank the debt was hard to take with my run in and kill everything pride! But I think I will start playing him again and bring him all the way to 50.
Oh and please peeps who quit when the game has put forth a challange, like when you die, or the baddies are to high, just suck it up and learn to play with skill, even a weak earlt WS can kick butt from the get go if you think when you play...sry my little soap box. But all I am saying is that I can be on a crappy team with my WS and still be the last one standing and kill the last baddie as the team watches dead, it can be done!
Good luck all...Out
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Honestly, I find your guide condescending and insulting...
But thats just me.
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here here
I decided to write this guide to give an overview of the Warshade and some helpful guidance versus talking about each power and what each power can do. In general Warshades are pretty hard to work with. They have some major endurance problems and there powers over all are not very powerful unless you go certain routes.
Some people have stated that Warshades are Controllerish and while I find that some what truthful I also find it very false. So with that being said Im going to start by examining certain sets and powers in hopes that before you start a Warshade you can make some proper judgments about where you want to go and how you want to get there.
Before lvl 6 is where you first get to meet the Warshade in all aspects the powers are the same as a PB. No real difference as far as damage goes. Here the difference lies in that one can fly and one can TP. The attacks are weak and youll probably meet your first Quantum or Void death at this lvl. Youll notice when you face a Void that your attacks do less damage to them versus the other mobs. There highly resistant to you while being able to dish out massive damage in return. Best bets are to either leave them alone or have a buddy help you out.
At lvl 6 you get your first form power if you so choose. If you decide to go the whole human only route you are in for a very hard road indeed. The Nova/Squid form is very powerful. It is probably the most damage dealing power set you can get. It comes with two AOE powers one that does a very wide cone attack and another that does an area attack. You also have two single target attacks one which does moderate damage and one that does high damage. The drawbacks to this selection are that youll be an agro getter. Youll send so much damage out that Tanks at this lvl will not be able to help you out. Youll send damage out in waves and droves that Blasters just can not compete. The drawbacks are youll be targeted and unless youre with a good team youll probably be whacked a few times.
Between lvls 1-13 you still do not have a power to deal with Voids and Quantums. My suggestion on three powers to get is Hasten, Sunless Mire, and Shadow Cloak. With a team this will allow you to get into big mobs and suck up there energy allowing you to do capped damage for 30 seconds. The Fitness pool is by choice only. If youre going Nova route Stamina will be of little use. I would suggest slotting your Nova form if you have chosen that with an end reducer and then some Stamina building ones. Still you will notice you are an endurance drainer and will have problems in that area.
If you have stuck with human form youre damage isnt getting any better in fact its getting worse. Orbiting Death sucks so much end that even with three endurance reducers it doesnt help. Your main damaging attack powers dont do damage at all but more like little ticks against a big elephant and though Sunless Mire is wonderful it doesnt seem to help. In Human form you notice one thing and one thing only; you are out of endurance and you are dying way too much. I would not suggest the Human form ever.
At lvl 18 you get Gravity Well. Take this power. This power combined with Shadow Cloak is wonderful. Why did you take Shadow Cloak? This is why you took Shadow Cloak. Gravity Well allows you with Super speed (you did take Super Speed right?) to zip on in there, hold that Quantum or Void, and then wail on them like no return. This is one of the most damaging attacks in human form and it has a nice hold that lasts for 10 seconds. I can not stress the importance of this power. It is needed; do not neglect it, and if you do just remember I told you so.
If youre still messing around with human form Im sorry. If you have taken Nova Form your damage is still unbelievable and is getting better. You have no regrets at this point because your endurance usage isnt that horrible. Youre dealing death on a mass scale and taking no names. Youre a Blaster on steroids. You are getting better.
At lvl 20 comes the second Form, the Lobster or should I say the Dwarf form. At this point a lot of people drop the flying squid and go for Dwarf. It comes with some nice resists, some damaging powers (that are not that damaging), and a taunt. It has mez protection and is built to be a tank when you slot it with at least 4 resist SOs. Its nice if you dont like to do a lot of damage but you also dont like to die. My suggestion is to take it. I use it for those moments in a team when the Tank needs help. I dont have the damage slotted but I do have the taunt. The sunless mire is nice and combined with the other human version one you can cap your damage for 30 seconds easily. Some people love this power others dont. If youre still going human form only Im sorry. Your endurance issues are still big issues, your damage is about that of the Dwarf form, and you have more debt than a bad Blaster on a bad day. At this point most people are cussing, yelling, and have deleted the Warshade altogether.
Up until lvl 32 nothing much changes. I would suggest getting Nebulous Form as this will allow you to get into those hard to reach spots without danger, gives you some jumping distance, and is nice when you want to run through Creys Folley or other places with Snipers without worrying too much. Its a big endurance hog but its nice. Ive used it a lot.
If you still decided to go the human route I would suggest taking Inky aspect and Gravitic Emanation. These two powers combined can daze a boss but honestly have you felt the pain yet? There are some other powers in the human line but really if youre stuck on going human only you should have picked PB.
Now at lvl 32 you get your first big power: Quasar or Dark Extraction. Which one first? I would highly suggest going with Dark Extraction. Human form suddenly becomes viable at this point, Nova form starts to become epic, and Dwarf form finally gets some damage. Its just taking you 32 lvls to get here. A very long and stressful 32 lvls but you have reached the milestone. Dark Extraction gives you a soul that you have captured to be used as a pet. It does some AOE damage and single target attacks. Its real nice and real damaging. Slot it the way you want or feel like. Everybody is different but taking this power turns your whole game around.
Quasar as fun as it is it isnt Nova or Inferno. Its flashier, less damaging, and faster recharging. Capped out you can take out some yellow minions but thats about it. You get drained of your endurance but nothing a few blue inspirations cant handle. I would suggest taking it at lvl 35 and using it here and there. Two sunless Mires on a big mob will cap out the damage so slotting it is up to you.
And now the drum rolls please, the one power that will make you truly epic, you have worked for 38 lvls for this point. Yes, its Eclipse. This power when you jump into a big mob and launched will turn your unresistant POS into a virtual 85% resist Tank. If your human form this is a God send and makes you viable (kind of) but if your Nova form this has made you epic. Mobs of Reds will fall before you as you and your pet Souls as you unleash death from above. You will slaughter all that come before you on a mass scale. Blasters will stop and look on in envy as you wade from one mob to the next slaughtering all those that come before you. Pop two disciplines and take on Purple Bosses without a care in the world. Paragon Protectors will fall to your might. You are unstoppable, you are Epic. Five Recharges makes this perma. Take this power and nothing shall stand before you. If your Dwarf Form only, this power wont help you much except to get some endurance.
Nova form is good all the way through. Youll be relying on teams a lot and the solo experience can be harsh. You might hear some bad things but honestly out of all the powers this is one of the better ones and least likely to stress you out. Becomes truly epic with Eclipse and there is no power in the game that can match this death dealing do gooder on sheer damage and resistance. Think 85% resistant all high damage AOE blaster with damage dealing pets and you have Nova form at lvl 39. You just have to look like a squid to do it.
Human form is a harsh life. It is painful and filled with debt. At lvl 32 becomes viable but youll have pain and lots of it. I went to lvl 36 human only and found life miserable and hated my Warshade. Endurance problems plagued me with 6 slotted stamina and damage was mediocre at best. Ohhh yes I could stun them and watch them walk dazily around me but killing them was a different story. The Nemesis staff was a great boon but when it came down to it I gave up and went all Nova all the way. I havent turned back nor am I sad that I did. Human form is for those to stubborn to realize that better things just lay a respec away. I was stubborn but in the end common sense came through. Good luck if you want to do Human form only. My suggestion is go with Peacebringer.
Now the Dwarf power; I use this for emergencies or when the tank yells help. Others use it as there main form. Its got mez protection, a little damage, and lots of resistance. For those who want to play a Tank without playing a Tank this power is for you. With Dark Extraction Im sure that solo wise this form is the way to go. You can wade into a group of three reds and let your little souls do all the work. Team wise you can replace a tank and solo your missions easily. It just wasnt for me because I like doing mass carnage. If you dont like debt and are willing to take less exp overall this form is for you. Its not Epic but it will do.