The Dancing Warshade - A Guide to Triform Combat

Bunny_Man · 02-01-2006 12:41 PM

<<Greetings.

I am Path Integral, a Kheldian of what you call the "Warshade" variety. It has become my assigned task to inform you, those of you who have also bonded with humans-->>

"Um, Path, I think you need to include humans in your address, too."

<< ...
It has become my assigned task to inform you, those of you, warshade and human, bonded together, to provide valuable information regarding combat tactics and strategy.

In particular, this is addressed to those who choose to develop all three forms, nova, human and dwarf. By adopting such tactics, a bonded warshade gains a superior set of powers to those of warshades who choose two adopt two, or even, um, ONE form. -->>

"Knock it off, Path. There aren't any inherently superior warshade form choices."

<<
...
As you can see, my fellow Kheldians, humans can be rather ... interesting ... at times. My human--
>>

"My name is Samantha, not 'my human'."

<<
...
As I was saying, Samantha is rather outspoken in her views. Nevertheless, while she is correct that a warshade need not be weak with only one or two forms, the three-form style of combat allows for extensive tactical and strategic flexibility that demonstrably does not exist, otherwise. A three-form warshade is almost as powerfully offensive as a blaster, and almost as tough as a tank, and can hold and control enemies nearly as well as a controller. The primary drawback is that one is not all of these at the same time, and the time in which one attempts to switch from one role to another is time enough to be defeated.

Thus, the primary personal skill a three-form warshade must needs develop is what my human-->>

"Samantha!"

<< ... Samantha -- who cannot even pronounce my real name! -- calls 'The Dancing Warshade'. Though why she would want to call it something so demeaning as-->>

"OK, Path. Enough. We've tried it your way. Now, hush."

<< ...b-->>

"Hush.

Now, you'll have to forgive Path. He isn't all that bad, for a warshade, and he can be really cool and helpful at times. But I think the way Kheldians talk and humans talk are different enough that they really need us to translate things into human terms.

So.

Anyway.

Where were we?

Ah, yes.

The Dancing Warshade ...

Basically, the idea is this: as a 3-form, we have more abilities than you can shake a stick at. We have two big weaknesses, though. If we're in one form, the abilities of our other forms aren't available, except very indirectly (like our so-called "click" powers ... why do we call them "click powers" anyway? It's like we were in some sort of game ...). The other major weakness is that by being expert in all three forms, we are master of none of them. Any warshade who fully trains his Nova form will be able to dish out more damage, faster. Any warshade who fully trains his Dwarf form shall be better able to hold his own in that form than we can. And, of course, any warshade who opts to train with a human-only form will always have access to all of his potential."

<<Yes, but that potential is gi-->>

"Hush, Path!

This is big enough of a weakness that many warshades -do- opt for only one or two forms. They become very skilled with their chosen, smaller set of powers, and can become quite mighty."

[Path snorts.]

"Cut it out, Path, or I'm going to watch 6 hours of chick flicks tonight!"

[Meek silence.]

"OK ... assuming no further interruptions ..."

[More meek silence.]

" ... ok ...

The style I call 'dancing' is an attempt to address these very real weaknesses. It doesn't matter if we can blast like a blaster, if we only end up defeated because we can't take the damage. And it doesn't matter if we can tank, if we find ourselves stuck in dwarf form, doing minor damage until the fight is over. Then there's all of our human-form abilities both warshade and nonwarshade, that are really very useful, but distinctly lack in defense and damage.

We can dance to overcome the problem. It's tricky. It takes some guts. And you're probably gonna find yourself going to the hospital fairly often while you train yourself in this form of fighting. But having done so, you will be able to use all of your potential.

So, first, some basics (without going over warshade abilities in detail):

NOVA FORM -
<ul type="square">[*]The Nova Form is remarkably powerful, and can be achieved with little training. Its blasts are very long range, 3 of the 4 are 100 ft, and the 4th, the cone, is fairly large for a cone. Prior to the infection of ED that permiated Paragon City, it was possible to take down a large group of baddies (council, nemesis, etc., that like to stick close together) with an application of the two AoE blasts. Even now, however, the 2nd round of AoEs will usually finish of the group. The strong AoEs end fights quickly, and create piles of arrested foes from which to heal (via Stygian Circle), and generate plenty of inspiration to keep fighting.[*]The Nova's flight speed is also of worthy note. Novas naturally fly faster than non-Kheldian heroes, with a much smaller espenditure of personal energy.[/list]DWARF FORM -
<ul type="square">[*]The Dwarf Form seems a bit weaker, offensively, than the Nova form. However, this is true only in terms of defeating large numbers of foes at once. One on one, the Dwarf does damage about as fast as Nova form, and is generally much safer from reprisal. Further, if one chooses to develop its strengths, the Dwarf can exert crowd control and amplify damage considerably with its Mire. Its healing ability is weak, but is generally enough to deal with the rate at which damage comes in. In a pinch, when no defeated foes lying around for Stygian Circle to heal oneself, the Dwarf's Drain can serve to self-heal with some measure of safety.[*]The Dwarf's Teleport ability is easily overlooked, especially for us warshades who can teleport in human form. However, even our mighty Dwarf can on occasion be badly hurt and in need of retreat. No matter how fast we can run in human form, our Dwarf form runs and jumps fairly slowly. In emergencies, it pays to recall the Teleport (the "Dwarf Step"). It can move you far from danger even faster than super-speed heroes can, for superspeed powers are subject to villainous supression in such circumstances. Especially in outdoor missions, this tool has saved me from participating in a total team wipe.[/list]HUMAN FORM -
<ul type="square">[*]The Human Form is the core of the tri-form dance. While it is occasionally useful to step directly from Dwarf to Nova and back, we must pass through human form in any event. Further, while it is faster to change from Nova or Dwarf to Human than the reverse, the Nova and Dwarf forms don't actually bring anything to human form except for the Dwarf's Mire. All other non-human powers are only available in the other forms. It is often worthwhile to at least pause in human form to recharge yourself with some of your human abilities. For example, if you can use Eclipse in human form to boost your defenses, you can change from Dwarf to human, use Eclipse, and then keep your Eclipse defense boost in Nova form.[*]As a human, one has the very nifty ability to teleport with no training whatsoever. Of course, being skilled in the -art- of teleporting is another matter, but you can always manage it. Even better, after a good deal of training, you learn how to teleport your teammates around, which is always welcome by your friends.[*]You've a large selection of powers as a warshade human, including stealth, control, and attack powers, along with some of the unique warshade abilities such as extracting an essence to serve as a "pet," using defeated foes to re-energize ourselves, absorbing foe's energy to self-energize and boost damage resistance, and so on.[/list]

DANCING -

The dance is the ability to use -all- of these, synchronistically. Here's a simple example, perhaps the easiest of them all. It requires the use of Eclipse, Dwarf Mire, Sunless Mire (the human mire), and Quasar (the human "nuke"). The Quasar power is a bit on the weak side, natively, and even fully trained, it will generally drain all of your own energy, while severely annoying (but not defeating) your nearby enemies. However, given a moderately large group of enemies (six or more will suffice), you can go into melee range in the middle of the group and use Eclipse (while in human form). This doesn't do much except boost your defenses for a bit, but that's the idea. They're gonna be mad and shooting/hitting you in another second or so. So, after that, hit Sunless Mire (while still in human form), then change to Dwarf form, and use the Dwarf Mire. This is kind of slow, so be patient. Fortunately, your use of Eclipse has prevented your enemies from hurting you badly, yet. Now, finally, drop the Dwarf form and use Quasar. By doing this, using both human and Dwarf powers together, you can maximize the power of Quasar in ways that are not available to someone limited to just human and nova forms. Thus, as at least a two-form (Dwarf and human), you can "nuke" almost as well as any big-bad blaster.

And that's an easy one! 6 steps: Eclipse->Mire->Dwarf->Mire->Human>Quasar.

And that's not the end. The mires haven't worn off yet, and Eclipse won't wear off for a while. So Catch a Breath and run by the nearest set of fallen foes, and use Stygian circle to recharge your energy to full. Now, if you're a triform like me, you can go into Nova form and be a true tank mage for a short while. Your damage will be maximized by the mires and the return fire will not hurt you badly at all. I've easily managed to plow through 3 large groups in quick succession this way. With maximized Nova AoEs, two shots usually takes out most all of a group.

But there's more to dancing than blindingly obvious powerups using warshade abilities.

Dancing is remembering everything you can do at all times.

It's fairly obvious, for example, that if you need to damage lots of enemies at once, the Nova form is ideal, and that if you want to avoid getting hurt or held or stunned, being in Dwarf form is ideal, and that if you want to control, then human form is ideal. But that's missing the point.

We want to control, and to damage, and to withstand damage. We want it all, and dancing is what gets it.

For instance, instead of Eclipse, it's possible to use Gravitic Emanation in the mire/mire/boom combo. It loses you the advantage of being tank-like even as a Nova, but it's doable, and it's usable far more often. With a single application of Gravitic Emanation, you can immediately go into Nova form and defeat everyone you just made dizzy. If you went in as just Nova, they'd all shoot at you over and over while you took them down. With Gravitic Emanation, they don't shoot back (mostly). And you can use the same tactic on group after group, and even skip the mire/mire part, as well.

Another f'rinstance: you're in Nova form, and you're getting too badly hurt. Now you -could- go into Dwarf form, but there's gonna be a long pause where you aren't shooting and just getting shot at before you become a Dwarf. However, if you go into human form, and fire Gravitic Emanation, you stop the pain right away. If there's any leftovers, use Gravity Well. Then go back to Nova form and go about your business.

This is just like dropping to human form for a quick heal, but with a more offensive-minded twist. It's easy to get caught up in "thinking like a nova" or "thinking like a dwarf." It's easy, and we all do it. But we aren't just that. We have stealth and teleporting and a huge set of tricks that are more useful than not. I don't need to teach you the tricks. They're obvious. You just gotta get out of your nova, dwarf, or human rut and think about them. DANCE them!

Dancing also implies learning several steps in sequence, and making those steps intuitive in execution. You don't think "OK, I need to do step one, now step two, now step three ..." Instead, you think, "I need to stun and heal" and just do it, no matter your current form.

POWER CHOICES -

It's easier to remember the Warshade powers in which I haven't trained, than it is to list the ones in which I have. I've trained only the basic shield, because it was either that or the poorly-named Orbiting Death or the Gravimetric Snare which keeps enemies in one spot, but still able to shoot. I've trained no other shielding powers (unless you want to count Eclipse as such, but it is very different). I trained the two fast-blast powers for offensive use while I'm human. Early on in training, these are primary attacks, but later they're just something to dish out damage with while I'm cycling control powers -- if I want to deal damage quickly, I try to go into Nova form.

I didn't train the other damage powers of human form except Quasar. I'm considering Unchain Essence for advanced training, but I've not trained it yet. Nor have I trained Essence Drain as a human. Finally, I've not trained Nebulous Form. ED or some related affliction that struck Paragon at the same time has severely curtailed access to the "phase shift" dimension. Strange that those carnies are as good at it as ever.

That said, I've trained all other powers. [As of level 43, so 3 more power choices remain, which could include some of these.]

Starless Step is an excellent pulling power. If you need to deal with a void or quant, without having to worry about his buddies, just use Starless Step to grab him near ya and then use your other powers to stun/hold him into submission. The primary virtue of this is that you don't need line of sight. And if you could close doors after opening them (why do villain's doors, even in invaded complexes, have such properties?), you could do it through the doors.

Gravity Well is excellent both for dealing significant damage while in human form, -and- for holding your target for the duration. You need pretty good accuracy and firing rate to keep a single enemy locked down with this power, but with enough damage, they don't need more than a single application and a few blasts from other sources. I've not quite fully trained this yet, but I think I can get it to fully lock down if I give up some damage or train it some more.

Gravitic Emanation is a very very very good power, and a key one to use in the dance. You can stun most of a group, and they'll stay stunned for a while, giving you plenty of time to go into Nova form and blast away. This is particularly useful against tough enemies who all can stun/hold you in return. Train your firing rate for this power to be high, and it will always be ready. It's possible to keep baddies perma-stunned, but there's a trade-off between stunning duration, fire rate, and accuracy that makes this difficult. I usually find them recovering just before I can use it again. Also, be careful! Some enemies, even mere minions, resist stunning effects well. Dwarf form is what gets you through such tight situations.

Dark Extraction almost doesn't bear mentioning, because it's that obviously useful. With enough training, especially training in speeding up oneself (OOC: Hasten from the Speed power pool), one can keep two "pets" going at the same time [mostly ... you'll be with one pet for a while before you can get back to two]. These combine well with all three forms, adding to your damage, and distracting enemies from focusing on yourself.

Quasar and Mire I've already mentioned. Strangely, I don't think Mire needs much training, and Quasar only needs training to fire it off more quickly, because two mires buff both damage and accuracy.

Of our so called secondary powers, I've trained Gravity Shield, Shadow Cloak, Stygian Circle (of course!), Inky Aspect (some regrets), Stygian Return and Eclipse (no regrets at all).

The shields aren't that useful unless one stays mostly in human form: changing to dwarf is a better shield than any of these, and Eclipse often means not needing any extra shields. Still, if one's strategy indicates that staying human for a while is likely, Gravity shield at least stops bullets and fists to some degree. Stygian Circle, totally untrained, is as good as a night's sleep, if you have at least three defeated enemies near.

Inky Aspect, while very useful by stopping minions in their tracks, does nothing against the lieutenants and their bosses. It doesn't stack, of course, being more of a "field" that is "toggled" on and off. Prior to Eclipse, Inky Aspect is useful against large groups, because minions not firing at you is as good as 100% immunity to minion damage. It is very simple with Inky Aspect to finish them off in detail. However, with Eclipse, it's just as easy to switch to Nova and finish them off faster, or with a fully-trained Gravitic Emanation, one can stun foes and then change out of human form and they'll still be stunned. (So then to Nova and AoE them with impunity.)

Stygian Return is a funky power. You don't want to have to use it, but it is so handy when you need it. If your enemies have defeated you, you can call on -their- energies to re-energize yourself and get back in the fight. I highly recommend executing Eclipse, if available, and immediately going to dwarf form. Most situations that can take me down usually do so by doing damage quickly, or I was taking a risky move outside of Dwarf form against a boss or the like. This gives two advantages: 1) you are almost always able to get back into the fight without help (teammate or hospital), and 2) you can do so in the middle of battle, rather than off to one side in safety. [A third virtue is that it very much reduces downtime from defeats! "OK. I think she's dead." "No, I'm not!"]

Eclipse doesn't need much explanation, other than to take it and use it. It doesn't protect you from being held or stunned or slept or whatever, but even if you do get held or stunned, they won't be able to damage you fast enough to take you down before it wears off (barring exceptionally powerful boss/AV attacks, or it was a poorly-executed Eclipse affecting only a few enemies). I train it to be accurate and to be used more often.

Of my non-warshade abilities, I've mostly trained myself to be physically fit, like most heroes do [Fitness Pool], and to be fast [Hasten only from the Speed Pool]. Most other powers that can be trained by any hero just aren't that useful to a triform. Medicine can be useful, but we don't need that as a self-heal, with 3 possible powers to use to self-heal and even self-rez. Concealment can stack with Shadow Cloak, to attack by surprise from melee range. Leadership requires staying in human form to work (I guess people don't like taking orders from a squid). Presence would be an interesting choices, but it would require considerable training to get to the most useful power to train: Invoke Panic, and Dwarves can taunt without this training. Training in Fighting wouldn't add much to Warshade powers, since we can just change to Dwarf form for the same effect. Finally, training in Leaping doesn't add much unless one is always in human form, since we can already TP and Fly and have other defenses besides acrobatics. In human-only form, Leaping is far more useful, because human-only necessarily lacks the Nova's flying.

POWERS TO SPECIALIZE [Slot] -

The first things to specialize in would be your Nova AoE blasts. To be blunt, until you are advanced enough to train in dwarf form, your best defense is that of a blaster: defeat them all and defeat them quickly. AoE is the only way to defeat a group fast enough to avoid being defeated oneself. It's risky, but the slowing effects of our blasts help very much in this regard. [I only 4-slot these, post ED, btw. 1 ACC, 3 DAM.]

After that, specialize your forms as you get them. Both need to train for extra endurance, while Nova can get extra training for flight speed, and Dwarf can train at better resisting damage.

After that, specialize in Gravity Well, Gravitic Emanation and Dark Extraction as you get them. That doesn't mean that you should neglect your other abilities: rather, choose your other training to your taste, but don't neglect training these.

[OOC: Of all my powers at lvl 43, only Gravitic Emanation and Dark Extraction are six-slotted. Only Gravity Well and the two forms are five-slotted. Nova doesn't not benefit from a 3rd fly SO, 2 maxes out fly speed.]

SUMMARY -

Dancing involves keeping track of all of your powers. There are some general guidelines to remember for form shifting
<ul type="square">[*]1 - Changing to human form is instant. Any human ability only requires the normal time to execute.[*]2 - Changing to Nove or Dwarf takes a bit of time, so usually we intend to stay in the form for a while ... except to grab a Dwarf Mire before a Quasar, of course![*]3 - Figure out which human powers you want to always use when available, such as Eclipse, Quasar, Gravitic Emanation, Gravity Well, and so on. [It helps to put them on your 2nd or 3rd power bar, so you can see when they're ready, even if inaccessible. See other guides for kheldian macros/binds that juggle your first bar.][*]4 - Always have pets, unless on a team or needing to be stealthy. (It sucks to have a sniper spot your pet, but not you!)[*]5 - Nova is best against lots of minions, because of the highly-damaging AoE attacks.[*]6 - Dwarf is best against single bosses (not AVs, usually, cuz in a team, your Nova damage serves better than tanking) and against groups of mezzers.[*]7 - Think like a blaster. This means take out the mezzers first. Either go in as a tank and hit them, or use Gravitic Emanation to stun them, then switch to Nova and finish them off.[*]8 - When there are few or no mezzers, Eclipse, whatever mires you wanna do, then go to town as a tank-Nova.[*]9 - Figure out how to safely switch out of Dwarf form in sticky situations. Often, key buffs are ready to go in human form, but you're busy in Dwarf form trying not to get hurt. Don't let yourself get stuck this way. Often a bit of tactics can keep you safe. For example, go to human form, then immediately hit Gravity Well or Gravitic Emanation (Emanation works against most bosses for knockback, and can affect a group, especially useful on a group of mezzers). Then run your buffs and go back to Dwarf form, or Nova form if you've Eclipsed yourself with several foes and the mezzers are neutralized.[*]10 - [Stock up on Break Free inspirations. It's the only thing you can't provide for yourself outside of tank form. Secondarily keep purple shields on hand for sticky out-of-dwarf situations. All other inspirations duplicate what you can do via your own powers, not that they aren't handy on occasion. We all need Respites on occasion.][/list]
Only in the most drastic of cases do I see a need to stay in Dwarf form exclusively, usually against a mezzing boss (rikti and carnies). Any other boss, no matter how tough, can be taken down faster with Nova form, largely because the four nova blasts all slow the boss's firing rate by a huge factor, and the damage rate is very high.

So, does that about cover it, Path?"

<< Yes, Samantha, I think it does. However, it is still empirically true that human-only warshades are gi-->>

"Hush, Path. We don't use such terms, here. It's called 'Iron-man style', not gi-- ... er, um, that word you were going to use."

<< Yes, Samantha. >>

Psydekick · 02-02-2006 01:57 AM

Favorite'd (is that a word)

Memphis_Bill · 02-02-2006 02:43 AM

Indeed.... And while it may seem like a bit of work, learning this flexibility will get a LOT more out of a Kheld.

That, plus I can't help but smile at the writing... six hours of chick flicks. I thought we were supposed to be heroes!

See my Guides and Tutorials

Bunny_Man · 02-03-2006 01:30 PM

"Hi!

A minor update w/r to Inky Aspect. It only stuns minions, which seems somewhat useless for higher levels, ...

but ...

it stacks with Gravitic Emanation to mez bosses.

I was soloing even-con pairs of Fake Nemesis and Warhulks without leaving human form.

They'd occasionally un-stun and so on, but nothing that an insp or two didn't fix right up.

BTW, I learned this from reading up on the journals of human-only warshades. So you see, Path? They aren't <bleeped!>."

<< I'm not going to respond, on account of the fact that doing so might result in my being forced to watch far too many "chick flicks." >>

"That's why we love you, Path!"

Mephe · 02-23-2006 07:14 AM

Now maybe I am crazy but... I put 4 slots in my inky. 1 Acc and 3 disorients.

My theory is every AOE toggle seems to pulse an effect every couple of seconds. So they MAY have coded it so that the disorient pulse happens just as the previous disorient effect is wearing off. So if I can double the disorient duration (with 3 SOs) I could get the effect to stack and disorient lieutanants. An application of gravitic emanation is require to get the bosses.

I need to test this out. If it works then its not a bad idea to split your slots between Gravity emanation and inky aspect.

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Blueeyed · 02-23-2006 07:27 AM

[ QUOTE ]
My theory is every AOE toggle seems to pulse an effect every couple of seconds. So they MAY have coded it so that the disorient pulse happens just as the previous disorient effect is wearing off. So if I can double the disorient duration (with 3 SOs) I could get the effect to stack and disorient lieutanants. An application of gravitic emanation is require to get the bosses.

[/ QUOTE ]
Like Oppressive Gloom, Inky Aspect is prevented from self-stacking. No matter how you slot it, you can never disorient LTs or bosses. That said, it will stack with other player's Inky Aspects or Oppressive Glooms to disorient anything up to a boss.

Mephe · 02-23-2006 07:38 AM

yeah I read some info from the scrapper board saying the same thing

Now I need to run a respec to get back those 3 very valuable slots from Inky. Grumble....
Why does the power allow us to slot disorients if it cant self stack, and why doesnt the power description tell us this kind of information?

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Blueeyed · 02-23-2006 07:41 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Why does the power allow us to slot disorients if it cant self stack,

[/ QUOTE ]
Because disorient durations can be very valuable when fight +3s (whom suffer only 65% of the normal duration). A diso can be the difference between having a notable gap between pulses and being disoriented, or keeping ten Crey minions layed out.
[ QUOTE ]
why doesnt the power description tell us this kind of information?

[/ QUOTE ]
Because the Devs are sadists.

Mephe · 02-23-2006 07:56 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Because disorient durations can be very valuable when fight +3s (whom suffer only 65% of the normal duration). A diso can be the difference between having a notable gap between pulses and being disoriented, or keeping ten Crey minions layed out.

[/ QUOTE ]
Good point. But... ever since ED and I5 I have not been on very many PUGs that are able to handle large spawns of +3s. It seems much more efficient to roll over +1s. But still it is better to have the option for being more effective versus higher levels.

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Bunny_Man · 02-27-2006 02:16 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because disorient durations can be very valuable when fight +3s (whom suffer only 65% of the normal duration). A diso can be the difference between having a notable gap between pulses and being disoriented, or keeping ten Crey minions layed out.

[/ QUOTE ]
Good point. But... ever since ED and I5 I have not been on very many PUGs that are able to handle large spawns of +3s. It seems much more efficient to roll over +1s. But still it is better to have the option for being more effective versus higher levels.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, for the +3's, you don't want to forget slotting with +ACC on top of the +disorient duration.

In my own experience, if it's +3s, I'm either in Nova or Dwarf form most of the time. Why? Nova's innate accuracy boost is -very- noticeable at this difficulty, and the Dwarf's damage resistance is handy for the converse reason (getting hit a lot). Human form is of course doable, but there are two warshade weaknesses to overcome in this style. 1) enemies drop at a much slower rate than for +0-+2 enemies, so healing and pets can be hard to obtain, and 2) mezzing requires accuracy and duration to be useful, and I don't think it's possible to slot for enough recharge/acc/disorient to reliably perma-stun anything (without hami-o's, of course).

The_Hegemon · 02-27-2006 07:29 AM

((Wow. Great guide!

Pretty much everything I'd say about Tri-forming tactics. Nicely done.))

The Ballad of Iron Percy

Togas · 02-27-2006 12:13 PM

With regards to slotting the Nova, I slotted both of the AoE attacks with 3 damage, 3 recharge. I slotted the Nova form itself with To-Hit Buff and EndMod.

Since you can slot the form itself with To-Hit buffs, I replaced acc with recharge to get those AoEs out a lot faster.

--Togas

Castillian · 07-16-2006 01:09 PM

Any chance you could post you actual build. I've been playing around with your "Dancing" Style And I like it. I'd like to see what powers you took and the way you slotted them if all possible. Thanks

Bunny_Man · 07-24-2006 11:01 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Any chance you could post you actual build. I've been playing around with your "Dancing" Style And I like it. I'd like to see what powers you took and the way you slotted them if all possible. Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Here you go:

---------------------------------------------
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Path Integral
Level: 50
Archetype: Warshade
Primary: Umbral Blast
Secondary: Umbral Aura
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Shadow Bolt==> Acc(1)Dmg(3)Dmg(3)Dmg(5)
01) --> Absorption==> DmgRes(1)
02) --> Ebon Eye==> Acc(2)Dmg(5)Dmg(34)Dmg(37)
04) --> Gravity Shield==> EndRdx(4)
06) --> Dark Nova==> EndMod(6)EndMod(15)EndMod(17)Fly(17)TH_Buf(36)
08) --> Starless Step==> Acc(8)
10) --> Swift==> Run(10)
12) --> Sunless Mire==> Acc(12)
14) --> Shadow Cloak==> EndRdx(14)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)
18) --> Gravity Well==> Acc(18)Rechg(19)Hold(19)Dmg(25)Dmg(25)Rechg(45)
20) --> Black Dwarf==> DmgRes(20)DmgRes(21)DmgRes(21)EndMod(36)EndMod(36)
22) --> Stamina==> EndMod(22)EndMod(23)EndMod(23)
24) --> Stygian Circle==> EndRdx(24)
26) --> Gravity Emanation==> Rechg(26)Rechg(27)DisDur(27)DisDur(29)Acc(29)Rechg(31)
28) --> Inky Aspect==> Acc(28)
30) --> Hasten==> Rechg(30)Rechg(31)Rechg(31)
32) --> Dark Extraction==> Rechg(32)Rechg(33)Rechg(33)Dmg(33)Dmg(34)Dmg(34)
35) --> Stygian Return==> Rechg(35)
38) --> Eclipse==> Rechg(38)Acc(39)Rechg(39)Rechg(39)
41) --> Quasar==> Rechg(41)Rechg(42)Rechg(42)
44) --> Nebulous Form==> Jump(44)
47) --> Super Speed==> EndRdx(47)
49) --> Orbiting Death==> Dmg(49)Dmg(50)Dmg(50)Acc(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Shadow Step==> EndRdx(1)
01) --> Dark Sustenance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
10) --> Shadow Recall==> EndRdx(10)
---------------------------------------------
06) --> Dark Nova Blast==> Acc(6)Dmg(13)Dmg(13)Dmg(15)
06) --> Dark Nova Bolt==> Acc(6)Dmg(43)Dmg(43)Dmg(43)
06) --> Dark Nova Detonation==> Acc(6)Dmg(9)Dmg(11)Dmg(11)
06) --> Dark Nova Emmanation==> Acc(6)Dmg(7)Dmg(7)Dmg(9)Range(48)Slow(48)
20) --> Black Dwarf Strike==> Acc(20)Dmg(40)Dmg(40)Dmg(42)
20) --> Black Dwarf Smite==> Acc(20)Dmg(37)Dmg(37)Dmg(40)
20) --> Black Dwarf Mire==> Acc(20)Rechg(46)Rechg(46)Rechg(48)
20) --> Black Dwarf Drain==> Acc(20)Heal(45)Heal(45)Rechg(46)
20) --> Black Dwarf Step==> EndRdx(20)
20) --> Black Dwarf Antagonize==> Acc(20)
---------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, I was primarily a Nova blaster, and used human form to sneak past voids and quants (and hold 'em as needed), for the early levels. After the Dwarf form, I left the Dwarf powers unslotted for a while, since I treated it as an emergency form, and continued slotting my other powers. I probably added damage to the Dwarf Smite sooner than level 37, though.

Otherwise, my priorities were:

1) Turn nova into blaster that rivals a fire blaster for AoEs. Note the cone range slotting!
2) Develop the human-form mez powers as quickly as possible. Fast recharge was most important, followed by a long mez duration.
3) Get pets out really fast.
4) For a long while, I tried doing the WS without any pool powers, but in spite of nerfage, Stamina and Hasten made the gameplay much smoother.
5) Fill in blanks, especially useful dwarf form abilities, along with grabbing the nuke and Eclipse.
6) Everything after level 40 is mostly an afterthought. I really didn't need orbiting debt, but it looks cool, and there wasn't much left to choose from that'd be fun.

Psydekick · 07-24-2006 11:33 PM

Thank you Path and Samantha, your guidance has helped Kei and I become more powerful than we could have possible imagined. Dwarf, Mire, Human, Mire, Nova, wipeout, Stygian, AGAIN!

Kelani · 12-15-2006 02:44 PM

*favorite'd*

Also, I feel this need to go stalk your toon now.. what server are you on?
Edit: bah, I need to learn how to read.

focusinc · 12-15-2006 09:45 PM

great guide my dancing WS is becoming one of my favorite toons and i dont even have eclipse

Hot_Edd · 12-19-2006 08:23 AM

Thank you for the guide! My lvl 34 has been shelved ever sense I got back, mainly because I knew I wanted to respec him back into a Tri-form, but after being shelved for so long and procrastination I just haven't done it. With this guide it will make the respec much painless and come sooner. Once my D3 hits 50, another 3 months hopefully..., my WS will rain his power once again!

Bill Z Bubba · 12-19-2006 10:06 AM

We the Melcor greatly enjoyed this discussion of ourselves. We recently underwent a radical change that has merged our psyches and removed the forms we once knew and loved.

Your dance incorporates our long standing amongst Warshades 6 Stage Death Blossom. We find it the height of the mutliform user.

Your insight into our prior abilities is strong, and we thank you for the time spent and information shared.

Be well, people of CoH.

Papaschtroumpf · 12-19-2006 12:45 PM

Totally agree with "the dance", Clair de Lune is an expert dancer herself.

I do disagree about your taking the fitness pool unless you solo a lot on difficulties that have fewer foes. Stygian Circle has never failed to meet my endurance needs. if you solo alot, just slot it well with endMod so that a single foe is all you need. The only time I have endurance issues is fighting AVs when noone on the team has endurance boosting powers (AM/RA/SB...) and stamina wouldn't help there since I usually fight AVs in nova form, unless I'm tanking.

I highly recommend superspeed, since it stacks with shadowcloak for full invisibility for those missions you just feel like sneaking around in, even better that you can recall the rest of your team too.

I found that I can't hold aggro with jut one slot in antagonize, I had to slot mine Acc/Taunt/Rchg before I found it effective enough to be a real tanker. Obviously if you motly solo it'a a moot point.

Papaschtroumpf · 12-19-2006 12:53 PM

Nebulous Form is another "step" in Clair's dance. it's great for absorbing alpha when you're not sure you can survive it (void bosses) or it might mezz you.

For example:
activate nebulous form
activate orbiting death (does nothing, you're phased)
activate inky aspect (does nothing, you're phased)
activate superspeed for invisibility (also not required) since it stacks with neb form for invis
run or TP into the spawn
drop superspeed to become visible
they all shoot at you while phase and you laugh
drop nebulous form: they are disorriented, and OD starts doing some damage while you:
eclipse
sunless mire
... you know the rest.

Another tactic that works but is rarely needed:
you already have a pet out
superspeed+shadow cloack to be invisible
run in the center of the spawn while invisible
pet follows and attracts aggro, taking alpha (possibly dying)
activate eclipse
ect...
make a new pet

I love to dance!

Papaschtroumpf · 12-19-2006 12:56 PM

For people slotting endMods in hte nova form, see the recent research that plasma and I did on that (do search), slotting the blasts is much more endurance efficient.

Bill Z Bubba · 12-19-2006 01:30 PM

[ QUOTE ]
For people slotting endMods in hte nova form, see the recent research that plasma and I did on that (do search), slotting the blasts is much more endurance efficient.

[/ QUOTE ]

We saw no need for endurance reduction in our attacks. We never stayed in the form long enough to need them. Slotted 1acc/2rec-red/3dam on the AoEs. Blast/blast, shift out, use whatever human form powers fit the moment, shift back to nova, blast/blast, shift to human, stygian.

In our current formless mode, we do have stamina, as it is necessary due to our lessened damage output.

Be well, people of CoH.

SkyRocker · 01-19-2007 07:20 PM

Thanks for this guide. I finally hit 50 1 week ago on my elec/elec blaster and immediately logged and rolled a Warshade. I'd been reading everything I could up until then, seeing how close I was to 50, and this guide was one of the things that I read.

It was hard to picture at first, but now that I'm actually playing one, I dance from form to form. I only have Human/Nova as I'm only lvl 12 now. I tend to stay mostly in Human Form to hunt and stalk through missions, alone and in teams, switching to Nova to blast.

My favorite thing to do is to find a Quantum/Void and tp them to me, hit them with the snare, chop them with the undead axe, blast to the face, punch them, trank them - wash/rinse/repeat until K.O.'d Quantum/Void lies at my feet. I've been pretty successful so far with this tactic, out of the 20 or so I've tried, I think I only made 2 or 3 trips to the hospital. In fact, I do worse in teams because they get the Void all riled up, I don't have a chance to tp it to me, and it blasts away at me from range!

Can't wait for dwarf, takes THREE to tango!

But this guide has been invaluable, thanks! Looking forward to another 38 levels of "Dancing with the Voids"!

Malice · 02-06-2007 11:18 PM

Got pointed in this direction from a friend of mine, Rachael Storm, and I have one thing to say...
Thanks!
Additionally -
Going to be trying this out, really looking forward to getting Kurosawa Ai up & going!
Cheers!