C. Power Pools
Having discussed the merits of the primary Empathy powers, lets turn our attention to power pools. One of the characteristics that differentiates PvP optimized toons from their PvE brethren is relatively heavy investment in power pools; every PvP toon ideally has two modes of movement, fitness through Stamina, and if necessary Medicine pool for a self-heal. Fortunately, empathy defenders have Healing Aura as a self-heal, so they can forgo the latter. Well, lets have a look.
C1. Concealment Pool
C1a. Stealth
In principle, stealth in conjunction with superspeed confers practical invisibility; not so in PvP. Stealth will still make the empathy harder to see at distance, and will confer some minor defense on balance though, it is not recommended, especially as it slows you, countering the whole superfast mantra of the build. If you do decide to take it, bear in mind it is somewhat thirsty for endurance, so slot at least one EndRed, preferably two.
RecSlot: Endred(1)Endred(2)
C1b. Grant Invisibility
This is a terrific defensive buff in PvP because villains, the predominant opponent, mostly will lack the ability to penetrate concealment; exceptions are many, such as dark and ninjutsu stalkers and masterminds with tactics, but on balance it will be very useful. Also, an invisible blapper with Clear Mind and Fortitude is essentially a ranged stalker, just a beautiful thing
it gives him the luxury to aim + BU without being pestered during the rooting animation. The power is very handy in PvE as well, though tankers will be rightly miffed if you render them invisible. A case could certainly be made for slotting it for defense (especially as it would stack nicely with defense from Fortitude), but barring the excess slots, its best just to slot the default with range, since its native range is quite short.
RecSlot: rang(1)
C1c. Invisibility
Invisibility will greatly improve the survivability of the PvP empath; as she relocates within zones, for example, it will protect against TP foe (cant TP what you cant see), and it can be toggled during an escape to essentially break LoS (line-of-sight). Unfortunately you cant use heals or buffs on teammates while its toggled; if you have stealth, a stealth/invis keybind switch is useful, but in any case you need to be able to toggle/detoggle invisibity instantly. Invisibility is extremely thirsty for endurance, but since you will only use it in transit its not necessary to heavily slot for end reduction.
RecSlot: endred(1)
C1d. Phase Shift
Did I mention that as much as your team loves you, your foes hate you? The PvP Empath will be TP foed nonstop during her career; early on shell be dependent on crazy mobility to escape such traps, but in the higher levels those Emps who have gone the Concealment route will have Phase Shift to extricate themselves from such sticky predicaments. The big, big downside is that it has a very long activation time 3 seconds! In PvP civilizations rise and fall in 3 seconds
generally though, if you act quickly you will get it off in time to survive; over time youll learn to recognize that you are being TPed and you can click Phase Shift at that moment. It is also a very endurance intensive power, but the Emp is simply using it as an escape, so recharge slotting takes precedence over EndRed. By the way, drones penetrate phasing, so no, you cant explore the villain base with it. Any Empath who takes the Concealment pool should take this power as it will be useful at least in RV and the arena
especially in the arena!
RecSlot: Rchg(1)Rchg(2)Rchg(3)
C2. Fighting Pool
Are you kidding me? There is no reason for empathy defenders of any stripe to take the Fighting Pool.
C3. Fitness
Yes, empathy defenders have Vigilance; this is not enough for PvP empaths though, who MUST have adequate endurance at all times, so they can react to anything. Really, its not optional.
C3a. Swift
You need to be as fast as toonly possible, and normally a 3-slotted Swift is de rigueur in PvP; however, the PvP Empath will have speed capped superspeed which does not suppress when using heals and buffs
countering the usual reason for swift, to compensate for suppression. If you DO take it, may as well slot it up, but Swift is not recommended.
SlotRec:Run(1)Run(2)Run(3) or as desired.
C3b. Hurdle
Gotta move, so slot this up with 3 Jumps.
SlotRec:Jump(1)Jump(2)Jump(3)
C3c. Health
With a frequent self-heal, it may seem as though Health would be skippable for a PvP empath. In fact, its very useful
it reduces wasting time using Healing Aura (allowing full attention on teammates) and it regenerates damage from Absorb Pain (your primary mode of healing) much faster. Slot it up.
SlotRec: Heal(1)Heal(2)Heal(3)
C3d. Stamina
Yeah, obviously take this and 3-slot EndMod ASAP
SlotRec: EndMod(1)EndMod(2)EndMod(3)
C4. Flight
Whats this? A web grenade with your name on it? Flight is a poor choice for PvP mobility because of Fly effects which, pardon the pun, fly around the battlefield. Beyond that, its slow, and PvP empaths need to be FAST. Skip it.
C5. Leadership
Defenders have the most effective Leadership buffs of any archetype class; it is a fantastic pool to invest in. Indeed, in terms of buffing pools, the PvP empathy has a choice, really, between Concealment and Leadership; its not an easy decision. The big downside for Leadership in PvP is that in zones, teammates are commonly out of range to benefit continuously from the buffs; in narrow quarters such as arena PvP, they are likely to be IN range. My recommendation is that if you want Leadership, consider forgoing Fitness pool so that you can take both Leadership and Concealment; this IS doable for an empath who is not attacking, especially once Golgis enter the picture. Concealment really is that critical, especially in the intense arena environment (mainly for phase shift). If you do make the sacrifices to take Leadership, consider the following recommendations.
C5a. Maneuvers
The red-headed stepchild of the pool, maneuvers confers a very small defense buff; while it tends to be roundly maligned, it can stack nicely with the defense buff from Fortitude
but on the whole its an underwhelming buff. For PvP empaths who take the Leadership Pool in its entirety, this should be the last priority.
C5b. Assault
Assault, in the hands of a defender, confers a 20% damage buff to teammates attacks given a team of 6 (5 plus the empathy) thats tantamount to having a free, extra teammate! Part of the joy of this power is that it only accepts EndReds, so there are more slots for slot-heavy powers.
SlotRec: EndRed(1)EndRed(2)
C5c. Tactics
This is the main reason players select the Leadership pool, and they do it not for ToHit buffs, but to see stalkers. The PvP empath doesnt actually need to see stalkers (she cant attack them), and teammates have little stacks of Clear Mind icons by their names so they dont need it for that purpose either; this means its function is to provide the team with To Hit buffs, and the power should be slotted accordingly. Its also a thirsty power, so it demands End reduction. A detailed discussion of To Hit buffs versus Accuracy buffs is beyond the scope of this guide, but basically To Hit buffs *add* to the base hit chance, and this sum is then multiplied by the factor of the accuracy buff consequently, To Hit buffs increase accuracy dramatically, very nice for PvP.
SlotRec: EndRed(1)ToHit(2)ToHit(3)EndRed(4)ToHit(5)
C5d. Vengeance
A very good situational buff, Vengeance is applied to a fallen teammate and confers a series of buffs (attack, healing, defense, and resistance to all damage types), all of which are significantly high. Vengeance is so good that certain hardcore PvP teams will select a designated dier at the start of a fight so that the remaining teammates can benefit from it; this is the red head effect that makes Nemesis so troublesome. While it can no longer be stacked, it is very effective with a single application, and is a must-take power for defenders using the Leadership pool. Fantastic even unslotted, there is really no way to slot it badly; if you have some spare slots, just add them in here.
SlotRec: whatever, Heal(1)DefBuff(2)ToHit(3) is fine, for example
when you start slotting Hamis, toss some freed-up slots here.
C6. Leaping
This is the mobility of choice for PvP. Its fast, its hard to track and follow, its frustrating to try to set up an assassin strike on a leaping foe, and best of all a toon that is jumping can use the momentum from it to avoid tarpatches and other terrain effects, even if TPed into them. Also, leaping powers have certain status benefits that are important.
C6a. Combat Jumping
An extremely low-endurance jumping boost with the added benefit of immobilization resistance. While it will be seldom used in zone PvP, its handy for closed arena environments. The default slot should suffice, though if there are extra slots in the high levels it could be beneficial to 3-slot for jump, just to maximize mobility..
SlotRec: Jump(1)
C6b. Super Jump
This is what Im talkin about! This is how PvP empaths move, bouncing like crazy from teammate to teammate, keeping buffs up, healing here and then suddenly there; its also how they avoid being assassinated, and it gives them the momentum to escape from frequent TP foe traps. The PvP empath should never stop moving, ever; since SJ doesnt suppress using heals or buffs this is easy to accomplish. This is a thirsty power in need of endurance reduction; it is capped out with just two jumps though.
SlotRec: EndRed(1)Jump(2)Jump(3)
C6c. Acrobatics
Ignore the bit about resisting holds, since for all practical purposes it doesnt; what it does do is confer knockback resistance in a big way, and this is VERY important in PvP, where knockback and knockdown are common. When a ninja blade stalker Soaring Dragons a prospective victim and they fall down, he knows he has a noob chump in his grasp; when they dont, he knows hes facing a PvPer. Be the latter. This is a thirsty power, like superjump, so slot for endurance reduction.
SlotRec: EndRed(1)EndRed(2)
Did you notice Jump Kick wasnt even listed? Good to be observant.
C7. Medicine Pool
This is for amateurs. Skip it.
C8. Presence Pool
Well, certainly a case could be made for Intimidate, since fear is so seldom resisted; could be a nice response to TP foe, for example. The PvP empath doesnt have time to play around with fear effects, though, and the rest of the pool is clearly of no use to her. Skip it.
C9. Speed Pool
C9a. Flurry
Dont even think about it. Good boy.
C9b. Hasten
The faster your heals and buffs can recharge the better your team is and the less they die; this is a must for a PvP empathy. Simply no argument. Set it in tray 3 or something and put it on autoclick.
SlotRec: rchg(1)rchg(2)rchg(3)
C9c. Super Speed
Remember the part about fast, fast, fast? Super speed, especially in conjunction with Super Jump, is mobility at its best. It needs endurance reduction and caps speed with two Run and it doesnt suppress when healing or buffing. In addition to getting you where you need to be quickly, its great for those times you arent able to jump free of a terrain effect (like caltrops or a tarpatch) and need to run out; youll still be slowed a lot, but basically youll move nicely.
SlotRec: EndRed(1)Run(2)Run(3)
C9d. Whirlwind
There was a time that the empath could use this to avoid rooting animations. Not anymore though. Skip it.
C10. Teleportation Pool
Obviously, teleportation is a very nice pool for defenders generally, empaths especially, and makes for quick escapes in PvP. Problem here is that there are already three must have pools (Fitness, Leaping, and Speed) and ideally a buffing pool (Concealment or Leadership), so taking the Teleportation pool will require heavy sacrifice. There are several possibilities here: depend on Vigilance for endurance and drop Fitness, or forgo the huge benefits of hasten and drop Speed both are heavy losses. Leaping really isnt negotiable; the PvP empath simply needs that mode of mobility to tend to scattered teammates. Forgoing any buffing pool is an option, though it undermines the spirit of turning teammates into unstoppable killing machines aspect of PvP empathing. My opinion is that the Teleportation Pool simply isnt worth the sacrifice. Nevertheless the powers follow.
C10a. Teleport Foe
So now what? /em slap the furious Brute you just conjured up? Maybe distract the cold/rad corruptor with a raindance? Turn into a pumpkin as a disguise? No. Skip it.
C10b. Recall Ally
There is no argument that this is a hugely useful power. A teammate is in jeopardy, whisk him to safety. Teammate just zoned or rezzed in the hospital and you need them NOW! Not a problem. A close-knit team might even disable teleport permissions so that the empath can teleport them instantly if their health goes red.
SlotRec: Endred(1)
C10c. Teleport
Sketchy as a travel power in PvP (though stalkers have used it to great effect with considerable practice), this is the flat-out best escape power. One downside is that without Hover (since Flight is a no-no), a lag spike will drop you like a stone; on the whole, though, with practice its fast travel. If an empath DOES go Teleportation pool, may as well do it up right with slotting.
EndRed(1)EndRed(2)Range(3)Range(4)Range(5)
C10d. Team Teleport
It actually angers me when Im Team-Teleported; seems no one asks permission. Really, a stunningly useless, even harmful, power except for masterminds. With considerable practice, Team Teleport can pose an interesting response to being TP foed no reason to actually take it though. Skip it.
Continued next post...
D. Epic Power Pools
Since the PvP Empathy defender is pretty well set with Primary and Power pools by 41, the build is open to indulge quite a bit in Epic power pools. While it is tempting to use this as an opportunity to pick up some strong attacks (like Total Focus) the recommendation of this guide is to stay the course; the empaths attacks will occupy valuable attention, time and endurance that is better served maintaining the team. Epic pools should be viewed as tools to enhance the survivability of the Empath, and/or to increase her effectiveness as a buffer and healer. Discussion of the Epic pools follows.
D1. Dark Mastery
Dark Mastery is a more attack-oriented Epic; Oppressive Gloom is mainly a disorient, and as such not particularly useful in PvP, Dark Consumption could be useful, although the Endurance benefit is probably not needed by a non-attacking defender with Stamina. Possibly the most useful power in the pool for a PvP empath is Dark Embrace, which confers resistance to a number of damage forms: Smash, Lethal, Negative and Toxic. Soul Drain, the final power in the pool, is not useful for a toon with no attacks, as its main benefit is an accuracy and damage bonus. A useful pool for a more attack-oriented defender, it is not recommended for the PvP empath, in spite of the nicest defensive power of all the defender epics.
D2. Electric Mastery
The first power in Electric Mastery, Electric Fence, is a nice power generally but as an immobilize is of little use in PvP, where a majority of players have Combat Jumping for immobilization resistance. Thunderstrike is a poor choice for PvP as it has a very high endurance cost, a long activation delay (3 seconds!) and an almost universally resisted (in PvP) status effect, knockback. The pools defensive toggle, Charged Armor is quite nice as it offers resistance to Energy damage, a generally unresisted damage type. The final power in the pool, Power Sink, is great in conjunction with endurance-sapping powers from the Electric secondary set but the PvP empath lacks these so its skippable. With just one power in the set really worth taking, the defensive toggle, its not recommended.
D3. Power Mastery
Now were talkin. Power Mastery is all about improving the already strong buffs the PvP Empath confers on her team, and as such is fully endorsed as the best power pool choice. As such, well discuss slotting.
D3a. Conserve Power
One of the great features of the PvP Empath is a relative abundance of endurance vigilance, stamina and a lack of direct attack powers result in a pretty healthy supply of blue. That said, there are times when the toon faces endurance drains, or simply needs to offset a high-drain power such as Phase Shift. While very nice though, it IS a skippable power; if taken, it will generally be quite situational and doesnt need anything beyond the default slot.
RecSlot: Rchg(1)
D3b. Power Buildup
This is the reason for the pool; fully slotted for recharges it is available about as often as Build Up, every couple of minutes, and when activated the next couple of buff activations are boosted tremendously pop this before applying Fortitude, Adrenaline Boost, Vengeance or the like and already amazing buffs will become insane. Heals will be boosted as well. THE must-have power of the set, youll slot it to have it as often as possible.
RecSlot: Rchg(1)Rchg(2)Rchg(3)
D3c. Temp Invulnerability
Not quite as exciting as the defensive toggles from other epic pools (this one only resists Smashing and Lethal damage), it nevertheless offers nice resistance to common damage types. Like all defensive toggles its fairly thirsty for endurance, but the PvP empath as a rule has few endurance problems, so running this toggle is not a problem, especially slotted to reduce drain. While it will only be a factor in RV and the arena, its worth taking and slotting.
RecSlot: EndRed(1)EndRed(2)Res(3)Res(4)Res(5)
D3d. Total Focus
What a great attack, and what a temptation. But again, your team is your weapon, its a big one, and you dont have time to be smacking on foes. Shed a small tear, and then skip it.
D4. Psychic Mastery
Its well known to PvPers that Psi damage is seldom resisted, and that makes this a tempting set for the PvP empath who would like the occasional finishing kill-shot. But again, thats not the PvP Empaths job. The first two powers in the pool, Dominate and Mass Hypnosis both have heavily resisted status effects (hold and sleep, respectively), at least in the PvP milieu, and should be skipped. The pool isnt dismissed out-of-hand though, because the final two powers are potentially very nice in PvP.
D4a. Mind over Body
A defensive toggle that confers resistance to smashing, lethal, and PSI damage quite nice, and if taken is worth slotting up.
RecSlot: EndRed(1)EndRed(2)Res(3)Res(4)Res(5)
D4b. Telekinesis
The whole theme of the PvP Empath has been no attacking, and really there should be no or at least very few exceptions to this rule. One possible allowance is with Telekinesis, a very useful (to say the least) unresisted hold/repel, which with practice is a very potent defense in PvP, as well as a means of setting up a killing jar for your buffed blasters. The sheer brokenness of this power is balanced by its great endurance demands the PvP empath, however, has endurance to spare. While use of this power should not interfere with buffing and healing in combat, in certain situations it could be very effective, especially as a defense.
RecSlot: EndRed(1)Rchg(2)Rchg(3)Endred(4)Rchg(5)
That concludes the discussion of epic pools; clearly, the pool of choice is Power Mastery; however, there is room for creative customization.
Continued next post...
E. Sample Build
The sample build that follows is that of the authors PvP empath, Saint Elektra. Elektra has chosen to eschew the Teleport pool, and has selected Concealment over Leadership because her specialty is zone PvP; as we will see, she is designed to be very useful in any zone, as well as in the arena.
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: Saint Elektra
Level: 50
Archetype: Defender
Primary: Empathy
Secondary: Electrical Blast
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01) --> Healing Aura==> Rechg(1)Rechg(3)Heal(5)Heal(7)Rechg(9)Heal(11)
01) --> Charged Bolts==> Acc(1)
02) --> Heal Other==> Rechg(2)Rechg(3)Heal(5)Heal(7)Rechg(9)Heal(11)
04) --> Absorb Pain==> Range(4)Rechg(39)Rechg(40)Heal(40)Heal(40)Range(42)
06) --> Combat Jumping==> Jump(6)
08) --> Resurrect==> Rechg(8)
10) --> Clear Mind==> Range(10)Range(39)Range(39)
12) --> Fortitude==> Rechg(12)Rechg(13)Rechg(13)DefBuf(15)DefBuf(15)DefBuf(31)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)EndRdx(17)Jump(25)Jump(43)
16) --> Hurdle==> Jump(16)Jump(17)Jump(37)
18) --> Recovery Aura==> Rechg(18)Rechg(19)Rechg(19)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)EndMod(25)
20) --> Health==> Heal(20) Heal (37) Heal (37)
22) --> Stamina==> EndMod(22)EndMod(23)EndMod(23)
24) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(24)EndRdx(36)
26) --> Regeneration Aura==> EndRdx(26)EndRdx(27)EndRdx(27)Heal(33)Heal(34)Heal(36)
28) --> Hasten==> Rechg(28)Rechg(29)Rechg(29)
30) --> Super Speed==> Run(30)EndRdx(31)Run(31)Run(43)
32) --> Adrenalin Boost==> Rechg(32)Rechg(33)Rechg(33)Heal(34)Heal(34)Heal(36)
35) --> Grant Invisibility==> Range(35)Range(46)Range(50)
38) --> Invisibility==> EndRdx(38)EndRdx(43)
41) --> Power Build Up==> Rechg(41)Rechg(42)Rechg(42)
44) --> Temp Invulnerability==> EndRdx(44)EndRdx(45)EndRdx(45)DmgRes(45)DmgRes(46)DmgRes(46)
47) --> Phase Shift==> Rechg(47)Rechg(48)Rechg(48)EndRdx(48)
49) --> Conserve Power==> Rechg(49)Rechg(50)Rechg(50)
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01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Vigilance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
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Lets examine the capabilities of this empath in each PvP zone.
Bloody Bay
Bloody Bay exemplars all toons to level 25; at this level, Saint Elektra has a full suite of well-slotted critical PvP buffs: all the heals, Clear Mind, Fortitude, and Recovery Aura. She has Stamina, so endurance wont be a problem, and Super Jump has Hurdle to boost its effectiveness she has good mobility, and also knockback protection from Acrobatics. A solid buffer and healer, and very survivable. Tactically, the size of Bloody Bay, and the fact that the pvp empath is not at full mobility at this time, demand that the team remain is close proximity to each other, ideally within a super jump from the empath
say a 200 yard radius.
Sirens Call
Sirens call exemplars to level 30, adding Regen Aura, Hasten and Superspeed; Sirens is a relatively small zone, and by this time the empath should be able to defend a team pretty well scattered throughout the zone. The main problem will be impediments to line of sight, really a matter of practice and familiarity with the zone to work through that. A critical competence at this point is to really master super jump, so that the empath can leap across the zone from rooftop to rooftop, since ground level results in a lot of building, fire escape and balcony hang-ups. TP foe is also very common at this point.
Warburg
Exemping now to 38, Elektra has access to Adrenaline Boost and Grant Invisibility. Take a moment and consider an invisible, clear-mind-spammed, forted, recovery-aurad and adrenaline boosted blapper, scranker or scrapper jumping you with full-on aim and buildup as you emerge from the WEB. Exactly.
RV/Arena
At this point, full powers are available; Phase Shift as an escape card, Power Boosted buffs to teammates. The ultimate PvP Empath.
F. Final Comments
This pvp Empath is based on a certain philosophy of PvP; namely, that balanced or generalist toons, while they may enjoy casual PvP, will never excel PvP is all about the extreme, strong specialization in a specific mode of killing other toons, combined with strict requirements: knockback protection, a self-heal, high mobility, and a means of emergency escape. Critics will deride an empathy defender without secondary set abilities; fact is, the extreme effectiveness of this approach to PvP empathy is, on the basis of experience, undeniable.
But is it fun? The PvP empath is most fun on a large team with no other empathy capabilities, in a hectic team vs team or zone environment she is everywhere at once and constantly busy. If you like busy, thats fun. Taking care of a single toon (being a pocket empath) can certainly be great fun given strong opposition or against improbable odds. As always, its a function of personality and expectation; I find it good fun.
Phantastik
Thanks to the PvP sages of Justice server who reviewed this guide and made valuable suggestions and commentary: lucas, Ripcord, Foneman, Peritus, MissInformed, Ra-Ra and others I may have overlooked!
Great guide.
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Good job, Phant.
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Thanks! 
Very nice. As a frequent blapping participant in Siren's and occasionally other places, I can say for certain there is one toon and one toon only who adds to my rate of bounty accumulation, and that is an empath. There is simply nothing like a competent empath, and I've occasionally paired up with a highly skilled one, either emp/* or even ill/emp, and butched whole zones full of villains. Fully buffed with a good emp who can heal me and still survive, I've literally blapped my way through villains so nonstop that the one I started with was back to die again by the time I ran out of villains to kill, as they hurled themselves futilely against the unstoppable force I became with the emp as a wingman. Absolutely amazing. In other words, while the builds may be somewhat different, an empath is quite possibly even MORE useful in PvP than they are in PvE, and that itself is considerable.
Most important: Once you hit 47, beg, borrow or steal 3 Membrane HOs for Fortitude.
I really hope that's a typo, and that Regeneration Aura should be 3 slotted for Rechg and not EndRdx.
You suffer from Obsessive Anti-Suppression Syndrome (OASS), common to most PvPers. You feel the need to slot movement powers which cannot be suppressed. But you're never going to use an attack and get suppressed! There's no need to slot Swift or Hurdle when you have Super Speed and Super Jump. Let go of your OASS.
Good to see you gave Super Speed and Super Jump 3 slots for Movement. It only takes 2 Run SOs to cap Super Speed, and probably 2 Jump SOs in Super Jump if you have Hurdle with a Jump SO, but I think more will help you move around despite slows.
Get 3 Membrane HOs for Fortitude.
Super Speed and Super Jump are fairly END expensive (0.45 END/second). Always give them 2 slots of END Reduction, and definitely 3 slot them before 3 slotting cheaper toggles. Three Micro HOs in each is very nice, and frees up some slots.
Some Golgi HOs are nice in Heal Other and Healing Aura.
Acrobatics is 0.26 END/second, while Temp Inv is 0.32 END/second. You'd save more END by moving one or two of those END Reduction slots to Clear Mind, as often as you cast it.
Grant Invis has a 20 foot range, and 3 slotting Range SOs increases it to 31.4. That's pretty much a waste of time, given you're moving around unsuppressed and fast. It has a decent Defense buff, even when cut in half after attacking. I'd 3 slot it for Defense, or Cytos if you're swimming in HOs. (It's a bit END expensive.)
If you lose toggles, you've got instant-on travel powers and 2 seconds to wait on Temp Inv. But you've got 10 seconds to wait for Acrobatics. If you have some spare slots, toss some Rechg in there.
And saving the best for last... Get 3 Membrane HOs for Fortitude.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.
I've moved on to Diablo 3, TopDoc-1304
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Most important: Once you hit 47, beg, borrow or steal 3 Membrane HOs for Fortitude.
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Definitely! I like guides to be HO-independent, though maybe I'll add an addendum discussing HO slotting.
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I really hope that's a typo, and that Regeneration Aura should be 3 slotted for Rechg and not EndRdx
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Oops, slippery fingers... consider that corrected. Good catch!
Edit: sadly, cant edit that post!
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You suffer from Obsessive Anti-Suppression Syndrome (OASS), common to most PvPers. You feel the need to slot movement powers which cannot be suppressed. But you're never going to use an attack and get suppressed! There's no need to slot Swift or Hurdle when you have Super Speed and Super Jump. Let go of your OASS.
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Interesting point; I'll mull that over.
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Good to see you gave Super Speed and Super Jump 3 slots for Movement. It only takes 2 Run SOs to cap Super Speed, and probably 2 Jump SOs in Super Jump if you have Hurdle with a Jump SO, but I think more will help you move around despite slows.
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Yep, thats the plan, compensating for slows. I'm leveling an ice/cold corr currently, so I have a big appreciation for slows on both sides.
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Super Speed and Super Jump are fairly END expensive (0.45 END/second). Always give them 2 slots of END Reduction, and definitely 3 slot them before 3 slotting cheaper toggles. Three Micro HOs in each is very nice, and frees up some slots.
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Without attacks, I'm not seeing endurane as a big issue. Good tip though.
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Acrobatics is 0.26 END/second, while Temp Inv is 0.32 END/second. You'd save more END by moving one or two of those END Reduction slots to Clear Mind, as often as you cast it.
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maybe slots freed from unsupressed movement can be used there.
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Grant Invis has a 20 foot range, and 3 slotting Range SOs increases it to 31.4. That's pretty much a waste of time, given you're moving around unsuppressed and fast. It has a decent Defense buff, even when cut in half after attacking. I'd 3 slot it for Defense, or Cytos if you're swimming in HOs. (It's a bit END expensive.)
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Yeah, the short range of grant invis bugs me, so I like the idea of boosting range. The defense aspect would stack nicely with Fortitude though.
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If you lose toggles, you've got instant-on travel powers and 2 seconds to wait on Temp Inv. But you've got 10 seconds to wait for Acrobatics. If you have some spare slots, toss some Rechg in there.
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On reflection, good tip for any pvp toon with Acro. Really never considered it.
Thanks for the helpful commentary TopDoc! 
Excellent guide! As a long time PvE Emp Def, I get very frustrated in PvP being a stalker's plaything. Some excellent ideas here I had not considered before. Thanks!
Phan! Awesome guide. I haven't had a chance to run this in a suitable PvP setting yet, but I'm loving it in PvE!
Still having a ball with this. I just hit level 34 with some great PvE play. I've dipped into PvP a couple times, but it really hasn't been active enough in Warburg for me to always find a team. I'll be joining some arena stuff when I get a chance.
Thanks!
Glad you like it... and yeah it works wonderfully for PvE as well
Just a quick question...
Why not slot Grant invis for defence and fortitude with to Hit buffs?
Its how I've got my toon slotted to allow both extra defence and to hit ability because they won't always be in range of leadership toggles, especially the scrapper that is chasing the stalker down.
Any reason why you chose to do it differently apart from it being 2 buffs to keep going, just curious?
You could do that.....I don't know if the numbers support it but by 47 I have membranes slotted in fort so it's irrelevant.
Excellent guide, Phan!
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Why not slot Grant invis for defence and fortitude with to Hit buffs?
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Slotting Grant Invis for defence is a great idea, especially considering I am constantly spamming (and hence renewing) invisibility. I can certainly see a case for reassigning some slots to it, especially once some slots are freed up by HOs.
My 3 defense slotting for Fortitude is based on the notion that PvP toons are already extremely slotted for accuracy (and often are running tactics themselves), and they can benefit more from maxing defense (this would especially be nice with the aforementioned defense-slotted Grant Invisibility). Naturally, all of this is moot post-Membranes.
nice guide, i have a pvp emp and it make take some work to get them, i find my 6 slotted fort 3 membranes and 3 ranges pwnz. also once you start getting them i would put gogli's 1 at a time in healing aura, heal other, regen aura, and ab (if you go with the heal enhances i've seen ppl go 3 rec/3 endmod as well), but never waste one in absorb pain/health. -grass
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but never waste one in absorb pain/health. -grass
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Why is it a waste in absorb pain?
does absorb pain use endurance or does it use your own health? -grass
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does absorb pain use endurance or does it use your own health? -grass
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Absorb uses practically no Endurance. Each use is less than 1 point.
exactly thats why it would be a waste to use a gogli in absorb pain. -grass
OK....I never paid the end use any attention and put them in there because I had them. It would make sense for that power to not use much endurance due to the -hp.
Great guide.
I have an Emp/Psy built for PvP on Pinnacle and she is a blast to play. It's really satisfying seeing how strong you can make your teammates and so on.
I did take a different approach, however.
At level 30, I had every Empath power save Regeneration Aurea, only one attack (Mental Blast) the entire leaping pool (Combat Jump, Super Jump, Acrobatics) Fitness Pool (Hurdle, Health, Stamina) and Concealment Pool (Stealth, Grant Invis, Phase Shift).
Since most of my PvP at the moment is in Siren's Call, the build has served me quite well. I will respec to a more optimal build if my supergroup takes to the Arena, or if I need to go to Warburg/Recluse's Victory.
I have put a few Range enhancers in Absorb Pain and Clear Mind myself, as I am constantly leaping in and out of combat and like tagging on the run with buffs.
Is the Speed pool necessary? My buffs cycle fairly rapidly and I can see the benefit of Superspeed, however. Does anyone ever take Whirlwind now that it roots?
Cheers and great guide again.
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
Phantastiks Guide to the PvP Empath (I8)
Introduction:
The purpose of this guide is discussion and build recommendations for a maximally effective PvP empathy defender. The guide assumes a role of pure team support, with no concern for combat ability or soloability. It is based on the authors experience, particularly as a PvP empath of course, and also the villain AT that hates empaths most, stalkers. Played well, this guide will produce a PvP empathy defender who will be highly sought after by hero PvP teams, and detested utterly by villains exactly what you want! This guide is Issue 8 compliant.
A1. PVP Note:
This is a PVP BUILD. This fact has some weighty implications. First, PvP is VERY different from PvE, and is very demanding of PvP optimized builds; such builds can actually be quite different from classic PvE builds even gimpy in a PvE milieu. Indeed, one reason for the popularity of stalkers in PvP is the near-convergence between good PvE and PvP builds there is simply less necessary compromise. Some builds, notably defender and controller builds, can very quite different. There is considerable need for specialization in PvP; whatever you do, you need to be very good no, the best at it. For controllers, that means holding and using containment to score a kill, while using mobility to mitigate damage. For an Empath, it means buffing teammates to the max, having the mobility to be everywhere at once and to stay alive, in particular to escape TP foe traps since the PvP empath is Enemy Prime as far a stalkers in particular are concerned. An Empath will never kill an even slightly competent foe in PvP it simply wont happen; his weapons are the teammates he buffs to godlike ability. As such, it is pointless for the PvP empath to have attacks; attacking is a waste of time and endurance that should be used for a Clear Mind or Fortitude on a teammate, or a critically timed Absorb Pain to undo an assassin strike. The PvP Empath, from a PvE perspective, is totally unbalanced. Secondary power sets, beyond mere flavor, are totally irrelevant for the PvP empath.
Another important concept in PvP is tempo tempo is the control of timing in PvP. Is your power ready and up when you need it? Can you be where you need to be when you need to be there? Can you balance fighting and mobility with endurance needs? Are you able to be continually mobile so you can escape when TPed into a tarpatch, caltrops, a bus stop? Some ATs, such as stalkers, have the luxury of stealth to pick and choose the time and place to fight; controllers can set up status and terrain effects. For the Empath defender, the main way to control tempo is simply to be as fast as possible and very hard to catch and kill. Mobility is critical.
To Summarize, the PvP Empath is a supermobile buffbot who can heal if needed. Period.
A2. Organization
This guide will present a discussion of Empathy powers, followed by a general PvP build. Following that is a discussion of some alternate power choices depending on what sort of PvP the toon is likely to be used for, and finally the guide will conclude with a discussion of strategies zone-by-zone.
B. Would you like a side of god with that heal? Empathy Powers
All defenders have great buffs speed boost, clarity, accelerated metabolism, the list goes on but nothing creates flat-out unkillable nightmare gods like well-timed, correctly slotted Empathy buffs. In fact, the essence of Empathy is buffs, not heals a well-buffed team will generally only need applications of healing powers in cases of heavy alphas, such as a built-up assassin strike, that penetrate the defense and regeneration buffs conferred by Empathy; indeed, it could be said the same danger that regen scrappers need to be wary of burst damage is the same thing the Empath will watch for in his buffed-out team.
Following is a list of Empathy powers with commentary and recommended max slotting and the order of slotting. For example, is a power is listed with slotting Rchg(1)Rchg(2)Heal(3)Heal(4)Rchg(5)Heal(6) it means you should first slot the power with a couple of recharges, then a couple of heals at higher levels, then maybe another recharge and finish it off at some high level with a final heal. I feel this is more instructive than simply listing maxed out slotting, since toons arent born at 50th level. So lets begin.
B1. Healing Aura
A power you must take, healing aura is a low magnitude heal that will keep a tightly grouped team cured of minor injuries. More importantly, it functions as a self-heal for the empath, freeing him from the need to take Medicine Pool. Generally, in PvP especially zone PvP the team will rarely be in a tight enough formation to benefit from healing aura, so its use really is purely as a self-heal. Many empaths leave it on auto, but the PvP empath does not because she absolutely needs the power to be recharged at any time that she is significantly damaged (again, tempo).
RecSlot: rchg(1)rchg(2)heal(3)heal(4)rchg(5)heal(6)
B2. Heal Other
In PvE this is an empaths bread & butter heal; in PvP it is a heal of secondary importance, used mainly for touch applications after a battle when there is a moment of calm, or as a heal applied if Absorb Pain isnt recharged.
RecSlot: rchg(1)rchg(2)heal(3)heal(4)rchg(5)heal(6)
B3. Absorb Pain
In PvE this is an emergency heal used to bring a tank back from a bad alpha; in PvP it becomes the empaths primary mode of healing. A well-buffed teammate is really only threatened by big strikes, such as assassins strikes or high-tier attacks by brutes under full fury attacks that take a toon from full green to deep yellow or red; the only way to prevent that toon from dying is sudden application of Absorb Pain. Yes, this damages the empath unrecoverably for several seconds, but the empaths mode of survival is mobility, not health. Take it, slot it, use it often. PvP isnt the place to be timid.
RecSlot: rchg(1)rchg(2)rchg(3)heal(4)heal(5)heal(6)
B4. Resurrect
The conventional wisdom in PvP is that there are very few times when its anything but foolish to rez a teammate in PvP; the rooting animation is sweet candy to nearby stalkers, and the newly-rezzed teammate is completely unbuffed, an eggshell. That said, this guide recommends taking it; with the advent of 1 health, 1 end hospital resurrection in PvP zones, it is certainly very useful in certain circumstances. Moreover, if a teammate drops and you have enough backup that you feel you can confidently rez him in the battlefield, popping Fort and CM on him while hes still spinning in the air thereby denying the enemy the tactical benefit of having eliminated an opponent. Use of Resurrect will require a judgment call as to likely placement of enemy mobs and other risks, but risk assessment is a fact of life in PvP. It is also handy, of course, in PvE if you arent 50 and are still doing missions to level the toon. Take it, dont slot it though.
RecSlot: Rchg(1)
B5. Clear Mind
This is why everyone wants an empath on their PvP team, and why Empaths are Enemy Prime to stalkers, who will stop at nothing to remove you from the field. This provides a perception buff that stacks easily and, stacked, will penetrate any degree of stealth. Literally whenever the empath is not doing something else, he should be applying Clear Mind to a teammate as soon as the power is recharged, it should be applied, even if this means an absurd number of CM icons in a teammates tray. I just cycle through the roster continually applying Clear Mind. Did I mention you should never let the power sit there unclicked? It should be perpetually recharging.
RecSlot: Rang(1)Rang(2)Rang(3)
B6. Fortitude
To me, this is the jewel in the crown; when Im playing other toons, and I discover the team empath lacks the Fortitude power, Im terribly disappointed no, crushed. This buff improves the recipients fighting ability and survivability tremendously; try playing a zero-defense toon sometime (a regen scrapper comes to mind) and watch the dodged messages start after youve been Forted, not to mention improved damage output, to-hit buffs, and so on. Youll want to 3-slot it with recharges as soon as possible; its buffs are great out-of-the-box so the first thing you want to do is get it on as many people as possible with 3 recharges you can keep it perma on 3 toons, 4 toons with haste, and as many as 5 toons perma with haste and speed boost. Like Clear Mind, Fortitude should be perpetually recharging, and you should be cycling it through your team so as many people as possible are perma-forted. This power, in conjunction with Clear Mind, makes blappers the most dangerous PvP toon imaginable. While there is some debate over slotting for defense versus to hit buffs, my view is that PvP spec toons already have great accuracy, and this is capped with aim in the case of blappers, so I advocate 3-slotting defense buffs; 2 Defbuff + 1 ToHit buff would be a good alternative, however.
RecSlot: Rchg(1)Rchg(2)Rchg(3)Defbuff(4)Defbuff(5)Defbuff(6 )
B7. Recovery Aura
Gather for RA!, that classic utterance that gets everyone scuttling over to the empath, is probably topped only by the love of Stone Tanks for speed boost for sheer in-game buff lust. Basically, it means no endurance worries, and fully slotted for recharge it can be up about half the time as a team buff. It IS a must-have power, but it is also very tricky to use in a PvP setting; it has a long animation that requires the team to STAND AROUND (gasp) while the aura is applied, a generally inadvisable thing to do. The best thing to do is use the power as opportunity presents itself; occasionally you might catch a few teammates in close proximity, or after a group of foes has been dispatched to the hospital, and you can use it then; even getting it on one teammate who seems to be having endurance problems is an effective use. The classic gather around will simply not happen in PvP, however; an exception would be a team disciplined enough to group in a safe location (the hospital) every couple of minutes for application of auras. In practice, this is not common. As with Fortitude, Recovery Auras buff is very potent out-of-the-box, so first priority is to slot it up for recharge.
RecSlot: Rchg(1)Rchg(2)Rchg(3)EndMod(4)EndMod(5)EndMod(6)
B8. Regeneration Aura
As Recovery Aura is to endurance, Regeneration Aura is to health. All the tactical considerations that apply to Recovery Aura apply here; conveniently, equally slotted with like-level recharge enhancements, Regeneration and Recovery Aura recharge at the same time if they have been discharged at the same time. There is one GREAT added benefit to Regeneration Aura that applies to the empathy defender herself if it is active when she uses Absorb Pain, it will regenerate the damage so rapidly its akin to being healed. Slotting is per Recovery Aura.
RecSlot: Rchg(1)Rchg(2)Rchg(3)heal(4)heal(5)heal(6)
B9. Adrenaline Boost
Adrenaline Boost transforms the recipient into a regen for a couple of minutes; fully slotted for recharge, it can be close to 60% of the time on a single toon, with one minute of downtime before reapplication. In PvE, you give it to whoever is tanking (usually a tank, sometimes a scrapper) to greatly boost their regeneration from injury. Additionally, it boosts endurance recovery, attack rate and, the real treat for PvP, confers resistance to slows. On a PvP team, it will be up to the empathy which lucky teammate gets this; as a rule, it does much less for blappers than it does for tanks and scrappers, and since many foes will simply not bother with tanks, it really comes down to scrappers a scrapper with Clear Mind, Fortitude and Adrenaline Boost will be a melee monster, and with slow resist should be particularly adept at taking down, for example, thug/dark masterminds. A strong buff even unslotted, slotting should focus on the regeneration aspect of the buff, but it is valuable to slot in one EndMod while the vanilla endurance recovery of AB is more than enough for most ATs, certain end-intensive blappers will notice the improvement in their end management.
RecSlot: rchg(1)rchg(2)heal(3)heal(4)rchg(5)endmod(6)
Continued next post...