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Starshield's Guide to FF/NRG DefTrolling

FossilStone

By FossilStone,
Posted on: 2005-12-15 20:34 in Player Guides

 

Posted

Hey all, I'm Starshield - an oldtime Bubbler who's been parsing out occasional semi-lucid advice about FF on the boards for quite some time but who never got around to writing up any sort of comprehensive Guide. CDN_Guardian's latest FF/NRG Offender guide finally inspired me to write a counterpart for the Defensive FF/NRG Defender. It is very much my opinion, my preferences, and my take on things rather than word handed down from on high, so take it with a pinch of salt and always defer to your own judgement of what is fun for you first.

StarShield's Defensive Defender Guide to Force Field / Energy Blast


Much like CDN_Guardian's guide, this is based on my experience building and playing an L50 FF/NRG Defender. Star has been touring the streets of Paragon since close to release date (after a brief but unsatisfying experience with Blaster life). Star is both a heavy Defense build, and heavily PvE focused. Star does PvP on occasion for variety's sake, but that is not remotely her focus. Those looking for strong PvP builds should definitely take that into account.

Overview:

I've always played Star with a heavy team-defence focus - including active defense through pseudo-control. But she is not a "pure" Defender of the no offence at all variety. She is quite capable of soloing even on Invincible - she just takes a while since her primary approach is controlling the enemy and whittling them down in a battle of attrition. The basic focus of Star's build is Battlefield support. She provides strong Defence to a team vs all attacks. She provides basic healing and protection. She puts the mobs where she wants them, she identifies problem individuals and takes them out of the fight through knockdown, outright control, or Detention. She attacks surgically to support her team, and she can absolutely hold her own when pressed, but offense is simply not her primary focus. If this sounds like you as well, read on!


Energy Blast Powers:

As with CDN's Offender, your primary attacks will be Power Bolt, Power Blast, and Power Burst. You may be a Defender, but the ability to defend yourself when called upon and fill in offensively when needed is an important part of any Defender build. As a Defensive Defender you will tend to use your offense surgically even solo. Your strength is your Defensive and Control prowess. You win battles of attrition rather than overwhelming outright.

Power Bolt and Blast:
Your basic ranged one-two punch.

Power Burst:
A short range burst which does strong single-target damage. Very useful as a finishing move - just hop in and delive the coup-de-grace.

Energy Torrent:
I have never had much use for this attack with Star. You have other tools at your disposal for AOE knockback, and she is normally far more concerned with concentrated fire on a particular single target than on AOE mayhem and the resulting aggro. Take it if you have slots to burn, but it is by no means necessary.

Explosive Blast:
I have found little use for this power whatsoever. Low damage AOE with knockback. All the same caveats as for Energy Torrent, plus it does less damage and its AOE KB effect can be better replicated with the new Repulsion Bomb if you really want it.

Sniper Blast:
Another attack for which Star has never had much use. If I want to pull I use Force Bolt. And I generally don't turn to offense until battle is engaged, in which case the new, lesser strength personal defenses of a bubbler mean it gets interrupted a fair bit. You might get some use out of it standing out of the way picking off stragglers, but I've always been just as happy hopping on into the fray to deliver a Power Burst if I want that.

Nova:
A defensive Defender's job rarely includes mass minion mop-up, Nova no longer can be 6-slotted for damage, and a defensive buld lacks many tools to significantly increase damage like Power Build Up. Quite skippable and Star never missed it.

Aim:
The only offense-boosting power you'll ever get, and requires no significant slotting. Take it when you have a slot free.

Power Push:
Outclassed in every way by Force Bolt. Utterly pointless for an FF/NRG.


Force Field Powers

Personal Force Field:
The strongest DEF power in the game by a wide margin in addition to respectable RES - but at a very hefty price. While PFF is running *no power will have any effect on anything at all except you*. If you are not familiar with the power read that twice and memorize it. Dispersion (for example) will display graphically, and will protect *you*, but wil have *no effect* on your teammates. This is very important to remember - as many new Bubblers believe that they can hide out in the middle of combat running toggles while protected by PFF and provide a useful contribution to the team... That said, PFF does have one proactive use - tanking! You will never be a true tank, as you haven't the HP and you cannot hold aggro with full defences up, but in the absence of a true tank you can absorb an alpha strike like no other. Particularly once you add an Epic +RES shield to the mix. Just note when using this tactic that:

1) Mobs will quickly lose interest in attacking you in favor of your teammates.

2) Be very careful of large numbers of mezzing mobs - particularly Sleep mezzers. The MAG protection of Dispersion is not that high, and it provides no sleep protection at all. If large numbers of mezzers concentrate on you even PFF will go down if a few get lucky.

3) PFF + Mind Over Body (Psy Epic Shield) = among the best Psy damage protection in the game. Keep that in mind when going against Psy AVs - you may be better equipped to absorb the AV's initial hit than even your team tanker... You may also be better equipped to survive an initial barrage of Vahz zombie puke than any tank in the early levels if you grab PFF early.

4) While you are in PFF your team gets no benefit from any of your other powers save the previously cast small bubbles. So hanging out in PFF long term is not of great benefit to the team.



Force Bolt:

The absolute A-number-one gem of the set after the big 3. Used properly no other power in the set is as good at precision rearrangement of the battlefield or delaying or controlling dangerous single targets. Knock mobs into debuff fields and next to tankers. Machine gun it to keep a dangerous Boss from ever even standing upright. Its cheap, fast, accurate, and dependable right out of the box. What's not to like?

The key to learning to wield Force Bolt accurately is to learn to master pool-table physics. The higher the angle downward from which you launch Force Bolt at a mob, the more knockback will be translated into knockup. Therefore the trick to controlling knockback distance is timing jumps and managing hovers. Practice sessions tossing greys into dumpsters are great for mastering the technique. Once you're good at it you can place mobs just about anywhere you want them.

Note to the newly initiated. This is *not* an attack by any stretch of the imagination. There is no point whatsoever in even considering it as a damage power. Don't let the ability to slot DMG fool you. It does half the DPS of *Brawl*.


Detention Field:

A lot of people don't like this power, and it is stronger in PvP and solo than in teams, but it still has its uses. There's few powers better at separating an AV from his posse so that you can clean up the help before taking him on. And its a godsend solo. Remember the Defensive Defender's mantra - divide and conquer. When you come into your prime you can charge a group, mez one, detention another, and bounce a third and fourth while whittling em down and never even take more than a potshot or two in return. Just make sure that in teams you make it clear what you intend to put in Detention and when - it is often very difficult for even attentive teammates to recognize the Detention effect through the haze of Dispersion and their own personal bubbles.


Dispersion Bubble:

Absolutely unskippable. Take ASAP and slot out ASAP. This is your personal and team mez protection, the majority of your day-to-day personal defence, and almost half of your team defence all wrapped into one package. No discussion. No disagreement. You *will* take this power at L12 and slot it out (3 DEF and 1 or two END) as soon as humanly possible.


Deflection and Insulation Shields:
The absolute cornerstone of your team defense. Deflection is higher priority than Insulation, but take them both ASAP and have them both fully slotted out before you hit 22.


Repulsion Field:
A lot of Bubblers dislike this power, and its true that it takes a fair bit of effort to get good effect from it, but used properly it can be quite powerful in the right circumstances now that I5 and 6 have made it cheap enough. First, erase all thought from your head of this being a melee keepaway power. It is in the crudest sense, but it really isn't all that effective at this job. Most mobs *will* get in a shot at you before being flung away. Solo I basically consider it a form of RECHARGE debuff. Enemies will charge me and get in a hit, and then be flung away and waste time getting up and running back before attacking again or switching to ranged. Useful at times, but hardly amazing. In teams you can jump next to squishy teammates with it to temporarily rescue them from being mobbed. Also useful but not fantastic. (Note: I have always found this method of rescue to be faster than tossing a Repulsion Bomb.) So when is it "powerful"? As a lockdown!

The single most powerful use for RF is juggling KB-susceptible mobs. Bosses, Lts, mezzers, you name it. RF used properly can prevent them from getting a shot off for as long as you have the endurance and patience to keep bouncing them. Indoors you need only find a convenient corner, shove them into it, and then stand back just within range and watch em bounce! Note - high ceilings are best as they will bounce less often and thus drain less end over time. If you really want to be ultra efficient you can run back and forth and only get into bouncing range just before they get back up. Managed properly this can bounce them at less end cost over time, but it requires good timing.

If you are outdoors or don't have a convenient corner? Ring-around-the-Rosy! Run at them, watch em bounce, and then run to where they land! If you circle about as you run you can keep them bouncing about in a circle without getting up, so that ranged teammates can blast em with impunity without having to give chase. Melee teammates...will likely not appreciate this method of control nearly so much. Note: If you are really good at maneuvering and timing your jumps you can juggle multiple mobs this way. I think my personal record was juggling three Red Lost Aberrants out in the open while a pair of teammates slowly whittled them down in safety. But I think I got vertigo by the end of the encounter.

Repulsion Bomb:
I tried to like this power. I really did. It has come and gone from my build numerous times since I first qualified for it, and I've tried to find a good use for it in all its forms. I've never been all that impressed with its Disorient capabilities, but I know some folks have been. I did find it occasionally useful as a perma-juggle tool in certain specific situations like the Freakshow Reactor trial (melee mate engages a large bunch in a corner and I spam RB on him from above). Now that it has been changed yet again, I find it has almost no use at all as a mez power with its low duration, long recharge, and low chance of a low MAG mez. Its animation and recharge time are long enough that I have always preferred jumping about with Force Bubble or Repulsion Field for rescuing mobbed squishies. So the only use I can find for the new incarnation is to break up an alpha strike. Cast it in the middle of a group, pop up PFF before the return fire hits, and then drop PFF again once your teammates have engaged. But at this point that is such a situational use that I simply cannot recommend the power unless you are simply determined to find a consistent use for it.

Force Bubble:
Can definitely be useful in the right circumstances, and is now cheap enough to run indefinitely, but be *very* careful with this power. It has a huge radius and will aggro everything it touches...onto you...the weakest defended member of the team. Always be aware of that tradeoff. Yes, it reduces damage to the team by preventing many mobs from closing to melee. But the cost is that much of the remaining ranged damage will be focused on *you*. And the rate you can drop when heavily engaged in such a situation can be astonishing. So be very certain you either have additional support backup to keep you upright, sufficient melee support to draw off the aggro, or are well protected enough with personal defenses to handle the resulting aggro before you use it. Note that very few melee-heavy hitters can penetrate this in PvP. A few Tanks, Scrappers, and Brutes using their temporary super-defenses, but most others save Energy Aura Scrappers/Brutes will be unable to penetrate it. If the likes of a Dark Scrapper has no ranged attacks he may find himself completely impotent against you....



Pool Powers :

I *strongly* recommend the Medicine Pool for any Bubbler post-I5. You do *not* have the DEF to prevent 95% of incoming damage any more, you do *not* provide sufficient damage mitigation to be the sole support in a large team, and regardless of team size your teammates *will* take damage. Aid Other has been vastly improved since the early days of CoH. A few recharge and/or interrupt reducers and you can easily and often fire it off even in the thick of combat, and it has a very respectable heal for a Defender when well-slotted. The PFF/Aid Self combo can be a lifesaver both solo and in teams, and is the key to soloing at Invincible for a Bubbler. If you can take a timeout and heal up at will you will eventually win almost any small encounter if you don't get mezzed - and you are one of the few squishies in the game to have any significant personal mez protection. It may take too long to be enjoyable - hence Star rarely solos at Invincible save when proving a point. But it is quite doable.

Maneuvers has been gutted, but the only way you can floor white con minions in the current release is by stacking Maneuvers with Dispersion and the small Bubbles. Since the difference between 40% DEF and 45% DEF against even con minions is cutting incoming damage in *half* this may well be worth it. On the other hand, white minions are not generally all that dangerous to an advanced level team unless in very large numbers. I personally prefer to eke out all the DEF I can, and take being able to floor at least *something* beyond Blues to be a matter of personal honor. But to each their own.

If I were to replace Leadership with another pool it would almost certainly be Stealth. Stealth is very strategic in PvP, and Grant Invis can be slotted for extra DEF similarly to Maneuvers - if requiring more effort to keep active on a large number of teammates.

Even with the end reductions of I6 I consider Stamina a must for almost any toon - especially one intending to rely to any degree upon toggles. So the Fitness pool is pretty much a given. The choice between Swift and Hurdle is largely personal preference depending upon the travel power you choose. I went with Swift and the Flight pool, but there's nothing wrong with any particular combo that strikes your fancy. I do recommend Health over taking both Swift AND Hurdle. Flight is particularly useful because Hover makes it easier to leverage knockback.


Epic Power Pool:

The strongest defensive option among the Defender Epics is Psy - no contest. A great hold, an AOE sleep, a shield that includes the very rare Psy RES, and Telekinesis. What's not to like? Picking up this pool is where you truly branch out into becoming a mini-Controller. Dark Mastery with Oppressive Gloom is the only other Epic which holds a candle to it for a Defensive Defender IMNSHO.

Domination:

Get it, slot it, love it. 6-slot ASAP with ACC, HOLD, and RECHARGE. This power makes it *so* much easier to nullify problem mobs like mezzing lts, bosses, etc its not even funny. Alternating this, Force Bolt, and possibly even Repulsion Field you can keep surprising numbers of opponents from retaliating. Just use KB powers to juggle the ones you haven't yet gotten locked down with a hold as you keep reapplying Domination to stack on bosses or hold down lts.

Mass Hypnosis:

Quite underrated in my opinion as a great way to break up alpha strikes, put a lid on unintentional draws, etc. Particularly on single-target and small area focused teams (Energy Blasters, Scrappers and Tankers, etc) this power can do a fantastic job of reducing incoming fire in the early stages of an engagement. Slot with 2 ACC and 3 RECHARGE, possibly a few sleep if you desire, but the duration is pretty good out-of-the-box.

Mind Over Body:
A great way to improve your personal defense, with the added advantage that once you stack it with Dispersion and PFF you will be a better tank against Psy foes than almost any other toon in the game. No, you can't hold aggro with PFF up, but not even a tank can take a Psychic alpha strike like an FF'er stacking PFF, MoB, and whatever other defenses she has at her disposal. Better than 100% DEF, capped 75% RES vs PSY and SMASH/LETHAL, and low level mez protection vs all but sleep is quite the defensive package!

Telekinesis:
An interesting power which takes a lot of work to get good use out of. It is expensive, slow recharging, and awkward but it is also a 100% to-hit *toggle* AOE hold. By the time you get it you should have had plenty of practice managing Repel powers, and in combination with Force Bubble and a corner it can be quite strong - taking high-con minions out of the fight indefinitely. Stacked with Domination it can lock down even a Boss in a corner pretty quickly.


Conclusion:

This is about as defensively strong and diverse a build as you can put together for an FF/NRG. By the time you reach 50 you will have a decent array of control and repositioning capabilities, decent healing capability in a pinch, as strong +DEF as can be provided in I6, while maintaining acceptable single target offense. You will have enough proactive defense through control that you can even solo relatively safely if slowly. You still are not as strong or diverse overall as a Rad or a Dark, but you have a lot to offer and are more than capable of making a valuable contribution to almost any team. Remember, in the end intelligent play and good strategy trump powerset every time.

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.6.7.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name:
Level: 50
Archetype: Defender
Primary: Force Field
Secondary: Energy Blast
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Deflection Shield==> DefBuf(1)DefBuf(3)DefBuf(11)
01) --> Power Bolt==> Acc(1)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)Dmg(9)EndRdx(19)Rechg(27)
02) --> Force Bolt==> Acc(2)Rechg(34)Rechg(40)
04) --> Power Blast==> Acc(4)Dmg(5)Dmg(7)Dmg(9)EndRdx(19)Rechg(23)
06) --> Aid Other==> Heal(6)Heal(7)Heal(17)Rechg(23)Rechg(33)Rechg(34)
08) --> Insulation Shield==> DefBuf(8)DefBuf(11)DefBuf(15)
10) --> Hover==> Fly(10)
12) --> Dispersion Bubble==> DefBuf(12)DefBuf(13)EndRdx(13)DefBuf(15)EndRdx(37)
14) --> Fly==> EndRdx(14)Fly(17)Fly(25)Fly(25)
16) --> Swift==> Run(16)
18) --> Health==> Heal(18)
20) --> Stamina==> EndRec(20)EndRec(21)EndRec(21)
22) --> Personal Force Field==> DefBuf(22)Rechg(36)Rechg(40)
24) --> Aid Self==> Heal(24)Heal(34)Rechg(36)Rechg(37)Rechg(50)Heal(36)
26) --> Repulsion Field==> EndRdx(26)EndRdx(27)EndRdx(37)
28) --> Power Burst==> Acc(28)Dmg(29)Dmg(29)Dmg(31)EndRdx(31)Rechg(31)
30) --> Aim==> Rechg(30)
32) --> Force Bubble==> EndRdx(32)EndRdx(33)EndRdx(33)
35) --> Detention Field==> Acc(35)Rechg(43)Rechg(46)
38) --> Maneuvers==> DefBuf(38)DefBuf(39)DefBuf(39)EndRdx(39)EndRdx(40)
41) --> Dominate==> Acc(41)Hold(42)Rechg(42)Hold(42)Rechg(43)Hold(43)
44) --> Mass Hypnosis==> Acc(44)Acc(45)Rechg(45)Rechg(45)Rechg(46)Sleep(46)
47) --> Mind Over Body==> DmgRes(47)DmgRes(48)DmgRes(48)EndRdx(48)
49) --> Telekinesis==> EndRdx(49)EndRdx(50)Rechg(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
01) --> Vigilance==> Empty(1)
---------------------------------------------

 

Posted

Nice job Starshield You did a good job of keeping the information concise (which I always have a problem doing) and your use of psy mastery and aid other to turn into a mini-controller has me pondering some of my power selections. I'm almost considering trying a similar build, having struggled with how to make an offensively capable FF defender (though PBU + atomic blast is just too much fun sometimes!)

I have one question for you about your choice of energy blast. Do you find that it brings anything particularly useful to a defensive FF build over the other power choices? Most blast sets have a lot in common, and I was wondering if you found the damage or knockback in energy of particular use to the build.

Anyway, great job, 5 stars.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
I have one question for you about your choice of energy blast. Do you find that it brings anything particularly useful to a defensive FF build over the other power choices? Most blast sets have a lot in common, and I was wondering if you found the damage or knockback in energy of particular use to the build.

[/ QUOTE ]

Honestly? I made Star so early in my CoH "career" that the visions of overwhelming knockback that danced in my head were at lot stronger than eventually played out. That and Energy just fit her from an RP perspective.

From a pure utility point of view I would find Sonic, Dark, or Electricity the strongest secondaries for a Bubbler. Sonic adds both team-offense-boosting oomph in the form of RES debuffs as well as some nice controls later in the set. Electricity offers end drain and an early single-target hold, as well as being the only way a Defender can pull off the "Pet plus PFF" MM trick. Dark synergizes well with DEF with its toHit debuff, and provides very useful Immob and Disorient powers as well as a self heal.

[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, great job, 5 stars.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks!

 

Posted

Excellent guide SS, and you have made me rethink a few of the pool-ancillary powers. 5 stars from me, and I hope you don't mind if I plug my own guide here too. . I'll reccommend that everyone read this guide along with mine and Bionexus' as a trinity of guides. Bio's for the numbers, mine for the combat strategy, and yours for the unique perspective and playstyle. Your guide opens up my eyes to other possible builds, where I had previously only looked at a strong focus solely on the FF primary, neglecting the other powers open to me. Thank you for that.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
PK's post

[/ QUOTE ]

Hehe, of course, we're the first people to flock to any new FF guides. GO team FF!

 

Posted

Nice guide StarShield.

I lost faith in my FF defender due to I made the wrong power choices. This has gave me the will to roll a new one. I was thinking Electricity as a secondary. I like the debuffs of what dark can do.. but I am a hero. I don't wan't to be shooting skulls out of my hands lol.

I like the concept of hitting villans with my mind (Pys). But I am not very confident to roll one. It seems not many people think Psyhic is any good.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Nice guide StarShield.

I lost faith in my FF defender due to I made the wrong power choices. This has gave me the will to roll a new one. I was thinking Electricity as a secondary. I like the debuffs of what dark can do.. but I am a hero. I don't wan't to be shooting skulls out of my hands lol.

I like the concept of hitting villans with my mind (Pys). But I am not very confident to roll one. It seems not many people think Psyhic is any good.

[/ QUOTE ]

To my mind Electricity is an excellent choice of secondary for a Bubbler. It is among the most end-efficient secondaries you can get now that all the single target attacks occasionally return the end they drain to you. And it provides a fair bit of utility in Short Cirtcuit, Volt Sentinel, and Tesla Cage. If you pair it up with the Psy Epic you end up with two single target holds - meaning you can hold a boss outright in seconds. That's a pretty good synergy!

I've never actually played a Psy secondary Defender. Its the only secondary with which I have no personal experience. It has a lot of powers which sound good on paper, but which from what I have heard don't play out quite so well in practice.

 

Posted

5 Stars to you!

I was referred to your guide because I'm planning out my FF/NRG toon. After some consideration, I roled my toon to be FF/Dark with Fitness, Medicine & Flight pools. Still not sure what Epic to choose at this time.

Keep up the great work.

@FOSSIL

Victory Server Glo-Worm Rad/Dark Defender

Justice Server: Fossil Stone Stone/EM Tank