Soldiers of Arachnos Core F.A.Q.
The following F.A.Q contains information relating to the Soldiers of Arachnos, both the Arachnos Soldier and Arachnos Widow Archetype.
<ul type="square">[*]What is a Soldier of Arachnos?
Soldiers of Arachnos (SoAs) are the long awaited Villain Epic Archetype (VEAT). We have a choice of either playing an Arachnos Widow or an Arachnos Spider.
[*]How do I get to play a Soldier of Arachnos?
You have to get a villain character to Threat Level 50. Having a Security Level 50 hero will not unlock the SoAs for you, just like having a Threat Level 50 villain will not unlock the Kheldians on heroes.
[*]What makes the Soldiers of Arachnos similar to Kheldians?
Soldiers of Arachnos are unlocked by getting Threat Level 50 with a villain character, much like Kheldians are unlocked by getting Security Level 50 with a hero and like Kheldians their primary powers are a mix of ranged and melee attack powers. Past that, Kheldians and Soldiers of Arachnos similarities end.
[*]What makes the Soldiers of Arachnos different from Kheldians?
Many things actually when you compare them side by side. First comes the unique fact that SoAs are very much a proactive team member, versus the Kheldian being a reactive team member. This means from the minute an SoA is added to a team, they are already providing the team benefits and abilities through their leadership powers, debuffing powers, and temporary buffs they can provide, hence the name of their secondary being teamwork.
The SoAs are also different from Khelds in the fact that they have branching capabilities, starting at Threat Level 24, instead of shape shifting forms. This opens up new possibilities and power choices for the player that allows them to expand their character past the basics.
[*]What Origin does a Soldier of Arachnos start as?
Both Spiders and Widows start are Natural Origin Archetypes.
[*]What are the powersets of Spiders and Widows?
For Spiders, the Trunk powers are Arachnos Soldier as your primary and Training and Gadgets as your secondary. For Widows, the Trunk powers are Widow Training as your primary and Teamwork as your secondary.
[*]Where does the Soldier of Arachnos start?
Mercy Island, your first contact is Alan Desslock, a former Soldier of Arachnos gone mercenary.
[*]Are there different arcs for the two Archetypes?
No, both Archetypes start with Alan Desslock and proceed through the same story from 1 to 50.
[*]Do the Soldiers of Arachnos have an enemy group?
No, the SoAs do not have an enemy group or any particular damage type they are weak to.
[*]Can Soldiers of Arachnos learn Patron Powers?
Yes, they can. They both get access to the brute Patron Power Pools.
[*]Do the Soldiers of Arachnos have any Pool Power restrictions?
No, they do not. You can choose any Pool Power you want to your hearts content up to the normal four Pools and one Patron.
[*]Can I make a Female Spider and a Male/Huge Widow?
Yes, you can.
[*]Do I have to wear an Arachnos Costume?
Yes, your first costume slot is devoted from character creation to always being an Arachnos Costume. However, at Threat Level 10 you get a mission from Brick Johnson that gives you a new costume slot a full 10 levels earlier than any other Archetype in the game.
[*]Does that mean I can have six costume slots?
No, that does not mean you can get six costume slots. It means that you can have all five of your costume slots by level 30, provided you use Halloween Salvage. However, this also means that you will also have all five costume slots without the use of Halloween Salvage as well.
[*]So that means I don't have a choice with my first costume slot?
Yes and no. You can actually change around various pieces and the colors of the Arachnos Costume. Otherwise you are indeed locked into an Arachnos Costume from 1 to 50 with your first slot.
[*]What about Widow Buttcapes?
The Coat Tails option is not in at this time, and according to Positron, most likely will not make it in before i12 goes live. However, he has said it is being worked on.
[*]Can I use Arachnos costume pieces in my other costume slots?
No, you cannot. The one, and only exception to this rule, is the Crab Spider Backpack, which will automatically be glued to your spine the moment you branch into the Crab Spider branch. The backpack will also prevent you from putting on other back options, such as wings and capes.
There is another exception to this rule, in that if you have the DVD boxed edition code you can get the special edition Arachnos Helmet or Cape.
[*]Do Soldiers of Arachnos have an inherent?
They have an inherent called Conditioning. This gives them a naturally higher base regeneration and recovery rate. The normal AT has a base of 0.42% regeneration and 1.67% recovery per second. The SoAs have a base of 0.50% regeneration and 1.75% recovery per second. This is a base change not an addition, and marks the first time an inherent is actually imbedded into the AT itself instead of being an extension through their power pools.
[*]Do Soldiers of Arachnos have an inherent travel power?
No, they do not.
[*]How does branching work?
At Threat Level 24, you are given an option to choose a branch path. This option is basically a forced free respec when you visit the trainer upon attempting to train to Threat Level 24. You do not have a choice in this, the trainer specifically states an Immediate respec and you have to take it. However, new options will be opened up to you for whichever path you wish to choose starting at Threat Level 1.
[*]Do I instantly lose access to powers by branching?
Yes and no. The answer is not simple. The moment you respec, you have all three branches opened up to your character, and are taken through the immediate respec. For basis of the branching we will call the base power pools the Trunk and the branches Branch A and Branch B.
When you accept your respec you will notice, going through the list, that all three options for your first power pick are available for you from your Trunk, Branch A and Branch B. At this point you can choose to select your first power from your Trunk or either the Branch A or Branch B power sets. If you choose a power from your Trunk, both Branch A and Branch B will remain open for you. However, if you choose a power from Branch A or Branch B at any time during the respec, the other branch will be closed off to you, but the Trunk powers will remain open.
[*]So that means I can pick powers from the trunk path as well as the branched path?
Yes, you can pick powers out of your Wolf and Crab Spider branches if you choose to on an Arachnos Spider or a combination of the Blood Widow and the Fortunata if you went Fortunata, again if you choose to.
Certain powers within each branch and the trunk or mutually exclusive; in other words, if you pick one power from either the trunk or the branch, the other, similar power will be greyed out from your choices. For instance, choosing Either venom grenade from Arachnos Soldier or the Crab Spider line will grey out the power pick.
[*]Does that mean I can choose not to branch at all?
Yes. You can, and it will be viable, though probably not as potent without the added benefits of the additional power picks you can get from your branch, as well as having less over all powers to choose. You still have to use the respec though.
[*]Can you respec into another branch if you want to?
Yes, you can.
[*]What are the caps on the Soldiers of Arachnos?
They are the exact same as the Kheldian caps. Thus 85% all resistance cap, 2402 health cap, ect. The one cap that is different is the stealth cap. Though not as high as stalkers, it is higher than all other ATs in the game.
[*]What are the stat multipliers on the Soldiers of Arachnos?
At this time, they have corruptor level health. However, all defensive powers that the Soldiers of Arachnos learn have defender values.
[*]What is the damage scale of the Soldiers of Arachnos?
Damage scale is 1.0 for both melee and ranged. They have a damage cap of 400%.
[*]How do the Soldiers of Arachnos get the Jail Bird badge?
Get to Threat Level 25 then do the introduction to Ouroboros arc.
[*]How well do Soldiers of Arachnos solo?
This is largely left up to play-style and power picks as well as just the general choices made within the various ATs themselves. Playing the ATs to their strengths will yield vastly different and better results than trying to play them like another AT would play. The Arachnos Soldier is best played utilizing their capabilities of range and holding enemies at range, thus minimizing their risks from the more heavy hitting melee attacks in the early game. The Arachnos Widow, on the other hand, is the exact opposite and capitalizes on melee attacks over ranged.
[*]How well do Soldiers of Arachnos do on teams?
Soldiers of Arachnos are at their strongest on teams, especially if you have more of them on your team. Their stacking secondary leadership toggles can add up fairly quickly the more that appear. Furthermore, they can further enhance a team as they have a lot of attacks that possess debuffing powers such as resist, -defense, -recharge, and regen. This can instantly add a lot to any low level team as they are going up, and only gets stronger in the Threat Level 1 to 23 game.
[*]Are Soldiers of Arachnos powers more expensive than normal Archetypes?
No, they are not. Arcanaville actually mentioned this in closed beta as several individuals kept saying the powers were too expensive, but the actual damage to endurance consumption ratio follows the same pattern as every other power in the game, with the exception of claws (which is cheaper than its actual damage to endurance usage ratio). Basically put, the SoAs damage is higher and thus end up using more endurance, and really cant be compared to other powers from the other Archetypes. Trying to compare Widow claw attacks to scrapper to stalker claws is basically futile as the widow claws do a lot more damage than standard claws.
[*]Will slotting for the Soldiers of Arachnos be tight like a Kheldian?
In the beginning, it will feel tight, but this is true of any Archetype in the game. However, once you start getting into your 30s, you may start feeling the pangs of having too many slots. By level 40, you may even start to wonder what you are going to do with some of your slots because you have an excess of them to the powers that they will actually be useful in.
[*]My Soldier of Arachnos sucks wind too much, how can I fix that?
The SoAs actually have a unique set up that puts them far above any other Archetype in the game. In this instance they have a power called Combat Training: Offensive that grants a base 10% accuracy to all powers, and has an increased enhancement ratio. Though it doesnt sound like much, this actually, combined with the inherent Leadership power that the SoAs can get, actually frees them up in the slotting choices on all powers that actually require a tohit check.
It would not be unusual for someone to slot only one accuracy, or no accuracies, with both the CT:O power and Leadership allowing for slotting of other enhancements such as recharge and endurance redux. This grants a lot more freedom in the pre-IO era of the character, in the way of slotting, than any other Archetype or power set before it.[/list]
Bane Spider F.A.Q.
The following F.A.Q. contains information relating to the Bane Spider branch of the Arachnos Soldier Archetype.
<ul type="square">[*]How would Bane Spiders best be described?
The best description you can give for the Bane spider is a shock trooper. They go in and deliver a lot of hurt in a short amount of time. They have options for ranged but their primary specialty is melee, with options for stealth and delivering extra burst damage.
[*]What Archetype would the Bane Spider be comparable to?
None, really. Trying to match the SoAs to any Archetype in general will produce staggeringly off-key assumptions about what the AT in general is suppose to be like. Its not a stalker, and definitely not a brute. Its its own animal. However, if it were to be compared to anything it would be a blapper, which is more of a mentality than an actual Archetype.
[*]How well does the Bane Spiders Cloaking Device work?
The Cloaking Device for Bane Spiders has a range of 50 feet on it. This gives the Bane Spider a greater ability to stealth through missions and avoid encounters if they so choose.
For comparisons, critters have these perception radii;
Minions: 45 feet
Lieutenants: 50 feet
Bosses: 54 feet
[*]Can Bane Spiders stack stealth powers?
No. Bane Spider stealth is just like any other stealth power in the game, one or the other, although IO stealth and super speed stealth will stack as well as the granted stealth from the powers of others on your team.
[*]Can Bane Spiders perform critical hits?
Yes they can from a hidden position. When you acquire the Cloaking Device power and turn it on, it mimics the stalker hide factor in that you will have a hidden tag under your buff bar. Any melee based attacks you perform will have the tag that says Stealth Strike on it that performs roughly 2/3rds critical damage of your attack. Shatter is the only exception to this with the Stealth Strike tag being replaced with Executioners Strike instead. The Crowd Control power only has a 50% chance to perform a critical hit from hide, and all ranged attacks have no chance to perform a critical hit from hide.
[*]Do Bane Spiders get more health?
They get a 20% health increase from their passive power, Bane Spider Armor Upgrade.
[*]How are Bane Spiders offensively?
Bane Spiders are juggernauts when it comes to offense, as long as you play to their strengths. They can decimate single opponents in short order, and deliver a lot of hurt. It would not be unusual at all for a Bane Spider to take out bosses in quick, rapid succession compared to any other Archetype offered. Opening up with an Execution Strike, it would not be unimaginable to see a 4th to a 3rd of a bosses health disappear in one strike.
[*]How are Bane Spiders defensively?
Bane Spiders sacrifice defensive measures for more offensive oriented power and debuffing capabilities. Thus they are not as defensive as the Crab Spider. Their primary defense is their offensive capability, again drawing from parallels in the blapper mentality of play-styles.
[*]Do Bane Spiders have to redraw the mace from Mace Mastery?
No, they do not. Bane Spider will use their mace instead of redrawing the mace if they take any of the Patron Powers from Mace Mastery.
[*]How does Surveillance work?
Surveillance is a nifty little power that Bane Spiders get. It does two things actually; 1) it debuffs the target's defense and resistance and 2) it allows you to view your targets combat statistics in your Combat Attribute window. This only works in PvE, so you can't use it in PvP to see other players statistics.
[*]How do Bane Spiders play solo?
Bane Spiders do quite well solo, utilizing their offensive capabilities as their primary defense. Damage wise they can put a massive hurt on spawn in short order, but would not be the ideal farmer style branch if that is what people would be looking for.
[*]How do Bane Spiders play on teams?
With their capabilities to provide debuff with surveillance to a targets defense and resistance, as well as heavy hitting melee attacks, the Bane Spiders role as a shock trooper becomes more evident as the Bane Spider is quite capable of soloing and taking care of troublesome enemies in a spawn group fairly quickly, and able to move onto the next target in very fast action. This, in addition to their team buffing, helps out a lot in those avenues as the Bane Spider can take care of pesky enemies like the Cimeroran Surgeons or Malta Sappers long before they have even had a chance to act, thus making them capable to move onto another threat target and take care of it in short order.[/list]
Crab Spider F.A.Q.
The following F.A.Q. contains information relating to the Crab Spider branch of the Arachnos Soldier Archetype.
<ul type="square">[*]How would a Crab Spider best be described?
Tactical SWAT would be something I would aim to call them. The Crab Spider is an Archetype that has a lot of AE potential added in with a mix of range and melee powers. A majority of the Crab Spiders powers allows them to hit a majority of targets within a certain range, and can best be described for their ability to help clear large spawns with a lot of AE attacks.
[*]What Archetype are the Crab Spiders most like?
Again, none of them really. The Crab Spider is a mix of defensive, some control and AE damage. They also have some pet powers that gives them a mix of things that can use. They can best be described as an AE juggernaut and are neither range nor melee exclusive, but being equally competent in both. At best, an Electric Melee character may sum it up, but I doubt it gives it the justice it deserves.
[*]How are Crab Spiders offensively?
Crab Spiders are more defensive but still quite capable of delivering a hurt. Most of their powers are primarily AE centric and thus are better used in groups of enemies. Furthermore, the best potential damage comes from a combination of their debuffing and chaining AE attacks for the maximum potential output of damage.
[*]How are Crab Spiders defensively?
Crab Spiders have more resistance than the other SoAs as well as also having their heal power, Serum. They can also have a staggering protection of 14.3 to mezzes at Threat Level 50, provided they have Wolf Spider Armor, Crab Spider Armor Upgrade and Fortification. They are more survivable in this situation, due to their nature of being in melee range more for their AE attack powers.
[*]Do Crab Spiders have to wear the backpack?
Yes, they do. The backpack is a part of their powers, and is required to attack with their powers. The moment you choose the Crab Spider branch, the backpack is instantly glued to your spine from that day forward, and you will be unable to choose any other back component on your character, unless you respec out of the Crab Spider branch.
[*]Do Crab Spiders get increased Health?
Yes, they can get increased health from their power called Serum. This also can heal them of damage. Its basically a Dull Pain for Crab Spiders but with a unique animation to it.
[*]How does the Omega Maneuver work?
The Omega Maneuver is a targeted AE nuke, as it were, that places a pet in the targeted location. For the next 5 seconds the pet will toss out a taunt aura, attempting to attract all enemies around it to get them closer to it. Once the 5 seconds are up, the bomb will explode doing some hefty damage and delivering stun effect around it. Personal player powers, like Aim, will not have any effect on the damage the bomb does, but debuff powers and external buffs, like Venom Grenade and Fulcrum Shift, can increase the potential damage of the Omega Maneuver.
This power is best used to clump up enemies, or enemy clumps, using Venom Grenade as a follow up as well as any other opening power. Its a great alpha opener power for a lot of encounters as it can take a lot of abuse before it explodes.
[*]How well do Crab Spiders solo?
Crab Spiders solo pretty good, but again most of their powers are aimed at AE rather than single target, thus most of their damage is designed to hit multiple targets. Their ability to withstand a bit more damage also aids in this factor, as well as their power to heal themselves.
[*]How good are Crab Spiders on teams?
Crab Spiders are all about their AEs when it comes to teaming and are further enhanced by providing a couple of excellent debuffing powers as well as extra fire power from their temporary pets they can summon. I would not put a Crab Spider in the role of a tank, but they have some excellent tools for taking alpha shots.[/list]
Fortunata F.A.Q.
The following F.A.Q. contains information relating to the Fortunata branch of the Arachnos Widow Archetype.
<ul type="square">[*]How would a Fortunata best be described?
A Fortunata is a heavily ranged based AT with a lot of single target and AE based control attacks. Their primary damage type is also psi damage, which is powerful against a lot of enemies, but also weak against certain others. They are best utilized at range only going in for closer attacks when they are sure everything is under control.
[*]What Archetype is the Fortunata most like?
Again, comparing the Fortunata to other Archetypes tends to draw wrong conclusions, but in this instance, the Fortunata is closer in respect to a control and semi-blaster. They are best utilized at range, putting everything under control for a team, and blasting them for damage, then swooping in and hitting everything with their AE powers, like Psychic Wail, that also does not have an endurance crash.
[*]Do Fortunatas get increased health?
No, they do not. They keep the same base health even after branching.
[*]How strong is the Fortunatas Mask Presence?
Mask Presence gives the Fortunata 40 feet of PvE stealth. With this they can get closer to enemy groups for better use of their AE powers, but this does not allow them to easily stealth missions with this power alone.
For comparisons, critters have these perception radii;
Minions: 45 feet
Lieutenants: 50 feet
Bosses: 54 feet
[*]Can a Fortunata stack stealth powers?
No. Fortunata stealth is just like any other stealth power in the game, one or the other, although IO stealth and super speed stealth will stack as well as the granted stealth from the powers of others on your team.
[*]Can a Fortunata perform a critical hit?
Only if they take a melee power from their Blood Widow pool. Otherwise no ranged power can perform a critical hit.
[*]How are Fortunatas offensively?
Fortunatas are a ranged fighter, they also have some of the faster recharging attacks. This allows them to provide more DPS regularly, but at a lower amount of damage. They can also put out a lot of control in their ability to KB, stun, hold, and confuse targets fast and effectively. Being that their damage is psi, this does not make them effective against psi resistant enemies, however it doesnt mean they are completely useless either.
[*]How are Fortunatas defensively?
Fortunatas have a surprisingly high base defense after specific powers are taken. This is further enhanced by their ability to control and lock down spawn, or use the spawn to their advantage. Furthermore, with their ability to stealth, they can get in closer to help utilize their AE powers and effects to greater use, and thus provide them even more defense early on.
[*]How does Mind Link work?
For Fortunatas, this power increases defense and tohit for 90 seconds every 5 minutes at base. Basically a Fortunata would prefer the group to be together to fire the power off, as it acts much like Accelerate Metabolism, in that it is fire and forget.
[*]How does Psychic Wail work?
Psychic Wail for Fortunatas is unique from other nuke powers in that it does not come with an endurance crash. It basically does damage, and delivers a stun to enemies that are affected by it, but due to the no crash portion, this power does not have the natural increased accuracy that other nukes have.
[*]How does Aura of Confusion work?
This is another nuke like power that the Fortunata has. Its an AE centered on the Fortunata that will affect anything caught by the blast and confuse them. It can be a great opener for large groups if the Fortunata can sneak in and fire it off before she gets noticed.
[*]How well do Fortunatas solo?
Fortunatas capabilities to solo rely on their ability to control the spawn then move in for the kill. As their attacks are psi based they also have an inherent -recharge in most of them, with a few adding additional control through KB, immob, or stunning of opponents. The only weakness in soloing that a Fortunata would have is against psi resistant enemies.
[*]How good are Fortunatas on teams?
Like all the SoAs, the Fortunata excels on a team, especially when other SoAs are present. In this case providing heavy control support and ranged damage output. The stealth power allowing the Fortunata to get in as close as possible before firing off AE attacks for maximum potential as well as keeping targets stationary or within patches of other team members can help make this a valuable asset. Coupled with the power of a Fortunatas Mind Link, a team can become quite the defensive juggernaut.[/list]
Night Widow F.A.Q.
The following F.A.Q. contains information relating to the Night Widow branch for the Arachnos Widow Archetype.
<ul type="square">[*]How would a Night Widow best be described?
An aggressive assassin. Night Widows provide excellent burst damage, able to help clear out outlying spawn as well as further enhancing a team with their tactical powers and spawn controlling powers. They can deliver a staggering amount of burst damage in melee, as well as providing excellent support in the form of their smoke grenade, powers that slow and regen attacks.
[*]What Archetype is the Night Widow most like?
Again, like all the other SoAs, there is no one Archetype the Night Widow can best be describe as. Many tend to try to compare the Night Widow to a scrapper, due to similarities in defensive number values of the Night Widow and SR stalkers, but that is a stretch in most cases. The Night Widow would better be as a burst damage specialist, providing extra support and team leadership, with capabilities to help direct attacks and take out pesky enemies.
[*]Do Night Widows get increased health?
No, they do not. They keep the same base health from 1 to 50.
[*]How does the Night Widows Mask Presence work?
Mask Presence gives the Night Widow 40 feet of PvE stealth. With this they can get closer to enemy groups for better use of their attacks for critical hits, but this does not allow them to easily stealth missions with this power alone.
For comparisons, critters have these perception radii;
Minions: 45 feet
Lieutenants: 50 feet
Bosses: 54 feet
[*]Can a Night Widow stack stealth powers?
No. Night Widow stealth is just like any other stealth power in the game, one or the other, although IO stealth and super speed stealth will stack as well as the granted stealth from the powers of others on your team.
[*]Can Night Widows perform critical hits?
Yes, they can. The Night Widow, like the Bane Spider, will get the tag of Hidden under their buff bar when they activate their Mask Presence power. When they attack from this position with a melee attack, they will deliver a 2/3rds damage critical hit to any opponent they hit. AE melee powers that they use have a 50% chance to crit from hide, and ranged powers have no chance to crit from hide.
[*]Why does the Night Widow have less choices in their primary to all the other branches?
Because the Night Widow is a natural extension of a Blood Widow, thus, in essence, if the devs chose to make the branch as large as the others, in the end it would just be repeating all the exact same powers you can already pick out of the Blood Widow branch. Since you can still keep and pick those powers that would make little sense.
[*]How are Night Widows offensively?
Night Widows emphasize the tactical assassination almost to a T, but quite capable of holding their own in any situation. Of all the SoAs, the Night Widow attacks are some of the most lethal, but they trade the lethality for longer recharge on their attacks. This would put more emphasis on figuring out the best ways to use ones attacks instead of attacking haphazardly with little thought into ones chain. Damage wise, they perform a staggering amount of burst damage.
[*]How are Night Widows defensively?
Night Widows are perhaps the most defensive of all the SoAs that one could possibly be. This due to their need to be in melee a lot to deliver some of the most devastating hits is also coupled by their ability to use things like Smoke Grenade to not only blind their enemies but also make it harder for them ot hit them. Coupled into that fact that Night Widow attacks also slow their enemies as well as reduce their enemies recharge dramatically. Night Widows also can get Elude, which stacked on top of their other defensive measures, can make a rather difficult opponent to land a hit on.
[*]How does Mind Link work?
Night Widow Mind Link buffs the teams tohit and defense for 90 seconds every 4 minutes. This power is unique in that it is fire and forget type power, much like Accelerate Metabolism, and best utilized in a gathered group.
[*]How does Smoke Grenade work?
Smoke Grenade can be used from a stealth position and does not drop the Night Widows hidden status. When it hits target, it reduces their perception radius as well as debuffs their tohit values, which coupled with the defense bonuses of a Night Widow make them even harder to hit. Night Widows using this in PvE could essentially stealth missions as the enemies debuffed perception would easily stack with the Night Widows stealth.
[*]How well do Night Widows solo?
Night Widows are excellent solors, capable of taking down spawn fast due to the burst nature of their damage. They can also take a few AE based powers and increase their capabilities at soloing exponentially, but the Night Widow trades some of this offensive nature in the fact her attacks cost more endurance due to their higher damage and also have longer recharge than most other SoA attacks. Placing a bit more wisdom on when and where an attack would be best utilized would help take the Night Widow further.
[*]How good are Night Widows on teams?
Night Widows provide staggering debuffs in regen, -recharge, and speed. This coupled with their Mind Link and defensive capabilities make them ideal for handling single target enemies. Their burst damage nature, like the Bane Spider, makes it easy for them to go from one target to the next without losing stride, and can also provide some decent AE back up support if the situation calls for it. Night Widows can deliver some devastating hits, but as mentioned have some long recharges on their attacks, so do not fall under well for shock trooper like Bane Spiders would. However, with the defense they can provide, a Night Widow could potentially hold off a dangerous enemy from squishier targets with their confront power.[/list]
Very very very nice info so far. I was on the edge about Banes, there's been a lot of negative talk about them, but you convinced me.
Let me know if you need me to delete this post, if you're still working on more posts for the FAQ.
-LM
That's a great resource. Thanks, Silver.
I like the attention paid to not thinking of the ATs as "stalker, blaster, tanker, etc." - it's valuable advice.
It is critical that you pay attention at this time.
Gaming in Limited Times
Guide to Plant/Ice Doms
Great post sir. I found its contents to be highly informative and concise. It does make me feel for stalkers though. Can we get this to the guide section?
When there is no room left in Hell, the Dead shall walk the earth.
You suck... AT POSTING GARBAGE! hehe
Good Guide, very informative and answers a lot of questions very succinctly. Thanks for the effort, Silver 
It's 106 miles to Grandville, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing faceless helmets
... Hit it ...
... Hit it ...
[ QUOTE ]
How well does the Bane Spiders Cloaking Device work?
The Cloaking Device for Bane Spiders has a range of 50 feet on it. This gives the Bane Spider a greater ability to stealth through missions and avoid encounters if they so choose.
For comparisons, critters have these perception radii;
Minions: 45 feet
Lieutenants: 50 feet
Bosses: 54 feet
[/ QUOTE ]
This part you might want to check. Initially the bane spider/widow stealth was just sort of like regular stealth. Critter could see you if got close when to them. After a patch or 2 ago this changed. It is almost identical to stalker hide in pve except that they dont get the huge aoe defense bonus. I could stand there next to a boss and do /em boombox all day and they would never know the difference. Initially I had planned to buy a stealth IO for mine to make up the difference but after the stealth change I wont be needing it so it will go to another AT instead.
Bump and Grind Bane/SoA
Kenja No Ishi Earth/Empathy Controller
Legendary Sannin Ninja/Pain Mastermind
Entoxicated Ninja/PSN Mastermind
Ninja Ryukenden Kat/WP Scrapper
Hellish Thoughts Fire/PSI Dominator
Thank You Devs for Merits!!!!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How well does the Bane Spiders Cloaking Device work?
The Cloaking Device for Bane Spiders has a range of 50 feet on it. This gives the Bane Spider a greater ability to stealth through missions and avoid encounters if they so choose.
For comparisons, critters have these perception radii;
Minions: 45 feet
Lieutenants: 50 feet
Bosses: 54 feet
[/ QUOTE ]
This part you might want to check. Initially the bane spider/widow stealth was just sort of like regular stealth. Critter could see you if got close when to them. After a patch or 2 ago this changed. It is almost identical to stalker hide in pve except that they dont get the huge aoe defense bonus. I could stand there next to a boss and do /em boombox all day and they would never know the difference. Initially I had planned to buy a stealth IO for mine to make up the difference but after the stealth change I wont be needing it so it will go to another AT instead.
[/ QUOTE ]Checking that now actually. From what the detailed powers info is telling me the figures are the same, so either there is a bug with critter perception, or the detailed info window is bugged.
Right now the Bane Spider Cloaking Device says 5000.00 (50 feet) and the Night Widow Mask Presence is saying 4000.00 (40 feet). Maybe test with a normal stealth power to find out the truth instead as it might be a bug in critter perceptions.
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How well does the Bane Spiders Cloaking Device work?
The Cloaking Device for Bane Spiders has a range of 50 feet on it. This gives the Bane Spider a greater ability to stealth through missions and avoid encounters if they so choose.
For comparisons, critters have these perception radii;
Minions: 45 feet
Lieutenants: 50 feet
Bosses: 54 feet
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This part you might want to check. Initially the bane spider/widow stealth was just sort of like regular stealth. Critter could see you if got close when to them. After a patch or 2 ago this changed. It is almost identical to stalker hide in pve except that they dont get the huge aoe defense bonus. I could stand there next to a boss and do /em boombox all day and they would never know the difference. Initially I had planned to buy a stealth IO for mine to make up the difference but after the stealth change I wont be needing it so it will go to another AT instead.
[/ QUOTE ]Checking that now actually. From what the detailed powers info is telling me the figures are the same, so either there is a bug with critter perception, or the detailed info window is bugged.
Right now the Bane Spider Cloaking Device says 5000.00 (50 feet) and the Night Widow Mask Presence is saying 4000.00 (40 feet). Maybe test with a normal stealth power to find out the truth instead as it might be a bug in critter perceptions.
[/ QUOTE ]I wouldnt neccessarily go by what the "real" numbers say on this, just go toggle on hide and stand next to a boss that is higher than you. If you dont get beat on within the next few seconds or so then you will know how to word it in your guide.
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As I said, it might be a bug in critter stealth. Best test example would be to take a stealth only character, and run up to a critter. If they don't aggro then I would definitely say there is a bug. Because critter perception is what it's listed right there and suppose to be how far they can aggro you at. I've been verifying that with surveillance, so I definitely think there is a bug.
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Now I know there is a bug with critter perception. I am standing not more than ten feet away from even conn longbow, without stealth and they still aren't aggroing.
They may be trying to get it work similar to Stalker in PvE but not PvP.
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They may be trying to get it work similar to Stalker in PvE but not PvP.
[/ QUOTE ]I doubt it, or else they would of just increased their PvE stealth radius instead. Stalkers have 150 feet of stealth radius in PvE.
My Night Widow is still seen by all critters at melee range, so if there's a bug, it's not a big one.
And, Silverspar, lovely FAQ, especially for Night Widows.
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Yep.
This is really doom.
Great stuff. Big help for someone like me who wasnt in beta.
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Cheers Silver, nice work
GOD bless,
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Very nice
A massively helpful guide. I've been away from the game for a while and I found all this new info about the VEATs a little overwhelming.
You've managed to present it concisely and professionally, and now I've decided I'll make a Crab Spider as soon as I can!
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Very nice list. You mention that Crab Spiders cannot use capes with their backpacks. Yet, in recent videos, I have seen some Crab Spiders with capes and I have to say... Sexy.
My Brute is currently 40 and should reach 50 when the issue goes live. Wish I could test this out myself.
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Very nice list. You mention that Crab Spiders cannot use capes with their backpacks. Yet, in recent videos, I have seen some Crab Spiders with capes and I have to say... Sexy.
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I believe you are mistaken. Crab spiders can under no circumstance wear a cape. Perhaps what you were seeing is Bane Spiders with the bladed Crab spider style gloves wearing their capes. The Backpack is the one and only back option for Crabs.
This may be a glitch or exploit, but in this video I can see what appears to be a Crab in a Cape starting at 1:33 and again at 2:55, where a caped villain attacks with what seems to be the backpack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdx4WM0jon8
If this is not an intended feature, then it must be a mistake or old beta.
The following F.A.Q. will be divided into several parts. This is due in part that a simple core F.A.Q. really cant explain the ins and outs of the AT even using the broadest definitions of it all, not to mention the original F.A.Q. was getting a tad unwieldly. As such the F.A.Q. will function more or less like the ATs themselves. Having the base, or core F.A.Q., then providing individual F.A.Q.s for each of the branches. To make this as simplistic as possible each section of the F.A.Q. will also contain a link, and in some sections core pieces maybe repeated for sake of simplicity.
Hot-Links to each F.A.Q.
Soldiers of Arachnos Core F.A.Q.
Bane Spider F.A.Q.
Crab Spider F.A.Q.
Fortunata F.A.Q.
Night Widow F.A.Q.