Just hit 50 and ready to roll a Kheldian?
By
Caligdoiel,
Posted on: 2005-10-13 09:50 in Player Guides
A useful and informative post.
-H
Great and informative guide.
I'm just about to hit 50 with my Main Toon and I was wondering what I should about playing a Squid. Your guide has given me some insight into what I will do.
Centinull
haha u kno what? i had almost no clue what pb's and w/s's do lol thx for the assist 
My 50's:
Fiya Man: Fiya/ Fiya/ Flame Blaster -Protector
Ethros: Dark/Dark/Dark Defender - Protector
Ja-Ja: Fire/Kin/Earth Controller- Protector
Shadow Flux: Fortunata
Daily Forecast: Fire/Storm/Mace Corruptor- Infinity
"XP is for sissies. Real men collect debt." -Adelie
@Gammos
[ QUOTE ]
haha u kno what? i had almost no clue what pb's and w/s's do lol thx for the assist
[/ QUOTE ]
I think you need alot more clues.
Just hit 50 and started a WS last night. This guide was a quick and helpful introduction. Thank you!
I would like to add something to this guide. Feel free to in-sorb it.
MACROS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE A HELL OF A LOT EASIER.
If you're planning on using a Bi-form or Tri-form Peace Bringer or War Shade, here are some helpful macros that will make your transformations a lot faster.
Assume that all of your Nova powers are in tray 9, and that all of your Dwarf powers are in tray 8, whereas Human powers are in trays 1, 2, and 3. Also, this is set up for a Peacebringer, but if you're going to make a Warshade, substitute power names in for Peacebringer ones.
For Tray 1 (bottom tray of Human powers)
/macro Nova "powexec_toggle_on Bright Nova$$goto_tray 9"
This will make it so that when you click the "Nova" macro, it will switch trays to a tray filled with *only* Nova powers.
/macro Dwarf "powexec_toggle_on White Dwarf$$goto_tray 8"
Same as above, only this makes you go to tray 8, where your Dwarf powers are.
For Tray 9 (Nova Form):
/macro Human "powexec_toggle_off Bright Nova$$goto_tray 1"
For when you want to switch back to human form-- takes you back to your original tray.
/macro Dwarf "powexec_toggle_on White Dwarf$$goto_tray 8"
This is to switch directly from Nova form to Dwarf form.
For Tray 8 (Dwarf Form):
/macro Human "Powexec_toggle_off White Dwarf$$goto_tray 1"
Again, turns you back to human form and switches back to original tray.
/macro Nova "powexec_toggle_on Bright Nova$$goto_tray 9"
For when you want to switch directly from Dwarf form to Nova form.
I generally put these in slots 9 and 0 on my bottom bar, Nova form always being in 0 and Dwarf always being in 9. This makes it so you don't get confused when trying to switch forms. For example, in Tray 1, I have Macro "Dwarf" in slot 9 and "Nova" in slot 0; whereas in Tray 9 I have Macro "Dwarf" in slot 9 and Macro "Human" in slot 0, and in tray 8 I have Macro "Human" in slot 9 and Macro "Nova" in slot 0.
One thing that you have to keep in mind is that if you are defeated or mezzed in either Nova or Dwarf form, your tray will still be set for that form until you click the "Human" macro to get it back where it was.
It sounds confusing at first, but once you get it set up you will thank yourself in the long run. Trust me.
FWIW, I use binds, not macros, for the same effect - saves four slots on the power tray. 
Yes, four - the binds to get INTO Nova and Dwarf form are the same as the macros listed.
Dropping into human, just combine powexectoggleoff white (or dark) dwarf and nova.
My fourth drops me into whatever my phase is - Quantum Flight for a PB, Nebulous Form for a WS. QFly is instant, where Nebform is not. (Typical 4 second phase.)
I don't suppose you could copypaste your bindfile for all to see (and rip off shamelessly?)
Hello, my name is @Caligdoiel and I'm an altoholic.
Luckily, 2.5 years later, Bill is still with us!
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide but just a bit of general advice when rolling your first Kheldian. I strongly suggest that you read the guides that are stickied to the top of the board for an in depth analysis of powers, tactics, etc. This guide is written for players that have reached level 50 but have not yet created their first Kheldian. I will discuss a bit of building philosophy, slotting, progression, and some tactics.
Please feel free to correct me or add to this. Many thanks to those that provided comments over on the Kheldian boards.
1. Know your role
Kheldians are a very open ended AT. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to build one but the way you play can definitely make your choice of Peacebringer or Warshade (and by extension -- your choice of powers and slotting) right or wrong for your playstyle. As early in the career of your Kheldian, you should get an idea of how you want to play. Unlike many builds in the other ATs where powersets, powers, and slotting dictates to a large degree how you play, a Kheldian must be built to suit YOU and not the other way around.
You should decide fairly early if you like to blast, stay in melee range, be stealthy, do massive damage, be a meatshield, control, defend, etc. Playing with a "blaster" style will definitely mean different emphasis on powers and slotting than playing as a pseudo tank or pseudo controller. Take a bit of time to get a feel of what you want to be doing when solo and in teams. Don't be afraid to reroll.
2. Know the powersets and ATs
Use the guides. Take a good look at the powers and their descriptions. Get a good feel of what a Peacebringer and a Warshade is capable. Get a good idea of what you might expect in damage output and in damage resistance. Form a picture in your mind of how you can use X power for Y effect.
When it comes to the ATs, I viewed the PB as a strong melee fighter with a whole lot of defenderish tricks. I viewed the WS as a strong ranged attacker with a whole lot of controllerish tricks. In the end, I settled on a WS and have had no regrets (although I will level a PB at some point I'm sure).
3. Failure is an option
Depending on what types of ATs you normally play -- or even the level of your heroes -- you may not be comfortable with defeats. For example, my level 50 is a Dark/Dark Defender. I never considered myself uber and played "inside the box" but to be honest, it was an extremely safe hero to play and quite powerful in the late game. I believe I built him well and found myself taking alpha strikes from the Clockwork King and Babbage, duo'ing Bile with scrappers, and running ALL of Indigo's missions (Malta) without a single defeat. I wasn't soloing AVs but I had an extremely high degree of confidence and capability. Then rolls the 'shade...
All of the sudden, I have no defense. I have no damage mitigation. I have damage but that is close to about it. I found a new friend in debt and learned from my mistakes. I learned that getting defeated teaches you how NOT to do things. With debt being cut in half in I5, running missions is even more the best way to learn with the biggest rewards and least adverse affects. As I began to get a feel for what I can do and what can be done to me, I stopped getting defeated. By the time I hit my 30s, I was seldom -- if ever -- getting defeated when soloing. So yes, it may start out rough but it definitely gets better.
4. Balance concept and effectiveness: Forms
Many would like to use a straight human form build. The human powers are the ones with all of the cool stuff. However, keep in mind the tradeoffs you must make for that. The same can be said for using only Nova or only Dwarf or staying with Human/Nova or Human/Dwarf. Find something that fits your style of play but I believe that more than any other AT, a Kheldian should respec. The forms can be a huge benefit and if you decided early you wanted to use all 3, a respec might not be necessary. However, for many other playstyles, a planned respec will allow you to bypass a lot of angst in the lower levels.
Nova: This is basically a high damage blaster with no defense and no resistance. I have found that currently (pre-ED), with 1 acc and 5x +3 SOs, I can 2 shot white con minions. That doesn't sound like such an amazing feat but being able to remove everything but Lts and bosses from the field of battle using only 2 shots is huge. It can really help with leveling. Nova single target attacks are very efficient in terms of endurance.
Dwarf: This is basically a high hitpoint melee form with a potential for very good damage resistance. You cannot function as a real tank on large teams. Taunt recharges a bit too slowly and without gauntlet, it is difficult to hold aggro. However, this form has excellent knockdown/knockback protection and outstanding mezz protection. The damage potential is much lower than Nova or Human but survivability is extremely high.
Human: All of the powers you take will only be available in human form except for the ones that come with the form toggles. All inherent powers are only in effect while in human form. Your human form is where you build your versatility or specialization.
5. How forms work
First, you have to get your mind to wrap around the idea of specialization to an extremely high degree. With the Kheldians, powers that you take when you level up, inherent powers (like health and stamina), toggles such as shields, summons for your pets, and any pool powers will only be available in human form. Click powers like Hasten can carry over but you must be in human form to use any powers outside of Nova and Dwarf.
Nova will come with 4 attacks. It also has a bonus to damage, accuracy, and endurance recovery. The form itself can be slotted as well as the attacks. If you take this at level 6, you automatically get a form of flight and 4 ranged damage attacks. This will be your most damaging form for a good many levels. In my opinion, Nova will speed up leveling to a considerable degree.
Dwarf will come with 2 primary attacks, antagonize, and teleport. PBs can use the teleport in this form for travel if they like. Currently, Dwarf 6 slotted for resistance will cap out damage resistance in Dwarf form. Even if you do not want to tank or fight in melee range, Dwarf form makes a good panic button. When you switch to dwarf, your hitpoints are drastically increased. This is effectively an increase in damage resistance as compared to Nova and Human (without shields). The reason being the same amount of damage is going agaist a larger health pool. In addition, the damage resistance that is slotted will mean each of those hits that is going against your doubled hitpoints will do less damage. An additional bonus is that the chances of you getting mezzed or held drop almost to 0. I have found that without hasten, cycling the 2 primary attacks results is a net endurance loss of 0.
I don't have figures on the scaling of the increase but at level 35, my human hitpoints were 862.3 and dwarf was 1509. It increased by a factor of 1.75.
[comments by Viscount_Gareth]
Actually, both Dwarf forms have two single-target attacks that are comparable. Black Dwarf gets a mire buff that deals some damage (and a heal that also does some damage), whereas PBs get a PBAoE attack and a self-heal (that does no damage). While the Black Dwarf mire and heal do some damage, they aren't true attacks--the PB's Dwarf Flare is a real attack, and in many ways is a great aggro grabber. I guess my main point is that you should indicate that they each have two single-target attacks, TP and Antagonize (a non-auto hit taunt), but their other two powers differ.
Both forms are toggles. This means you will switch to human if your endurance drops. You will also switch to human if held or mezzed.
6. Missions and Quantums/Voids
Personally, I recommend running your missions on heroic for a good bit when you first start a Kheldian. Sure, you can handle an orange Lt before you are level 20 but it is extremely difficult to handle an Orange boss Void or Quantum. As you may know, Quantums and Void Seekers/Slayers/Hunters can and WILL spawn in every mission you run. A minion won't kill you in one shot although they can definitely take a major chunk out of your health and stun you. Running on heroic guarantees that all of the Quantums/Voids will be minions when you are solo. If a buddy joins you, you might see one as a boss or an Lt. but they are much more manageable in a group.
Run your missions. Run your story arcs. I believe before level 30 I had completed 11 story arcs. Your first Kheldian contact will give you a story arc every 5 levels. The arcs are pretty good and you still get the big bonus at the end in addition to an enhancement that fits your origin and level. One added benefit is that you get a phone number early and you can call them in.
[comments by Viscount_Gareth]
A point worth mentioning is that while you will always get Quantums and Voids on missions, you will only face Q/V bosses on missions with large teams (even when the difficulty slider is up). I believe it needs to be at least a 6-person team (it may be 7-person) to spawn a Q/V boss. Only Q/V bosses will normally be able to one-shot a healthy Kheld (and as such, you probably will want your team to help with them). For other Q/Vs, once you develop the powers and techniques to defeat them, I would encourage all Khelds to make it their mission to eradicate such scum personally.
7. Power pools and travel powers
Pool powers are a very personal thing. As a Kheldian, you will have access to either human flight/nova flight/dwarf TP or human teleport/nova flight/dwarf teleport. Picking up a pool just for travel is a tradeoff you should carefully consider. You don't HAVE to get a pool but some would much rather use SS for travel than flight. Others would rather just put a slot or two in teleport and call it a day.
The fitness pool is also a very personal thing. If you will not be spending a lot of time in human form, the fitness pool will not be as useful as it could be. After all, Stamina and Health only affect you in human form. The flip side is that fitness can be a benefit when you actually are in human form and using human powers. Personally, I waited until 30 for Stamina and even now (at 36) it has only 2 slots. I probably won't put more than that in it. If you slot a form for endurance recovery (like nova), you can always switch to that for recovery and not use up a power slot.
8. It is YOUR Kheldian, YOUR build, YOUR game
It is important to remember that there are no "must haves" and "must slot" and "must use" aspects of a Kheldian. I have tried to avoid suggesting slotting or powers (outside of forms to a degree) because those are things you will need to decide on your own. Building a Kheldian that is contrary to the way you play will lead to frustration and debt. Building a Kheldian that allows you to do better those things you enjoy will yield a much better experience -- even when you get defeated. You had to be doing something right to get a level 50. You know how the AI works. You know what to expect around that corner. You have a really good idea of how you are affected and how you can affect NPCs. That is a huge advantage. But...and it is a big one...do not expect your Kheldian experience to mirror any other hero you have. Don't rush, plan a bit, and have fun. You are in for a very nice ride.
[Addition by SkeetSkeet]
9. Binds are your friend. If you never took the time before, now is when you should learn and love keybinds. Other AT's and builds can get by from 1 to 50 never using a bind. Kheldians aren't like other AT's. There are excellent guides on the boards and it will make life as a Kheldian 100 times easier.