Well, I've heard from people with far more experience than me that EM is totally gimped unless you're using with the DA so stuns can stack. I believe the change was something about activation times on some of the powers, which changed it from a fast firing set to a lethargic at best set.
As far as skippable powers vs. must haves? All I can suggest is the MUST HAVES are at 35/38 for EM, and the big 4 (Temp Invul, Unyield, Dull Pain, Invinc) for your invul side are the required ones. From there, you can get the passives for more rounded resists, or get tough/weave for more focused resist and more defense, that's your call.
For me, Unstoppable is a skippable power, but that is because I dislike "crash" powers. So you'll have to try that out yourself.
Thats the best I can offer 
Energy's Transfer animation was increase from 1 sec to 2.67 secs (IIRC).
Total Focus mag 4 stun was reduced to mag 3
Barrage's activation time was increase and so was recharge and damage IIRC, don't remember the specifics on the Barrage change.
Yes, energy melee is still a great ST set. Better for solo then teamed PvE, but still viable for team.
*Shrug* Decide for yourself:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
Energy Melee Dam Act DPA
Barrage 58.7 1.33 37.06
Energy Punch 44.5 0.83 42.14
Bone Smasher 73 1.5 42.54
Whirling Hands 44.5 2.5 16.86
Energy Transfer 202.9 2.67 69.87
Total Focus 158.4 3.3 46.15
Fiery Melee Dam Act DPA
Scorch 48 1 40.40
Fire Sword 73 1.33 46.09
Combustion 57.8 3 18.24
Breath of Fire 74.7 2.67 25.72
FSC 83.6 2.67 28.79
Incinerate 111.2 1.67 60.17
Gr Fire Sword 144.1 2.33 57.46
Stone Melee Dam Act DPA
Stone Fist 44.49 0.83 42.13
Stone Mallet 73 1.61 39.50
Heavy Mallet 101.4 1.63 54.87
Hurl Boulder 73 2.5 27.65
Tremor 44.5 3.3 12.97
Seismic Smash 158.4 1.5 92.31
</pre><hr />
DPA calc includes Arcanatime. I haven't updated the very latest damage numbers from City of Data yet, but they should be close enough.
I'm including Stone & Fire as comparisons for ST & AoE damage. First off, EM's AoE is a joke. The only sets w/worse PBAoE attacks are Stone (see Tremor) and Axe w/Whirling Axe, but Axe gets 2 cones to supplement so it's far, far better than EM. So Stone is the only worse AoE damaging tanker set, and Tremor has a far better chance of KD than WH's stun %. Still, EM > Stone, but worse than everything else at AoE, and by a lot. Well, maybe not Dark, but Soul Drain does more damage, tho obviously, it recharges slower, but depending on how well you leverage Shadow Maul (and Soul Drain), you're prolly breaking even w/Dark Melee as well.
ST? Well, ET is still a good attack, but no longer the monster it used to be. Your best attack chain is likely EP-ET-EP-TF-EP-BS or something along those lines. Fire Melee can beat that w/FS, Incinerate & GFS, and Stone beats it w/some combination of Stone Fist, Heavy Mallet & Seismic Smash.
Stuns? TF is a guaranteed mag 3, which isn't as good as a guaranteed mag 4 hold in Seismic Smash. All the other stuns in the set are % to stuns which aren't all that reliable, plus they tend to wander away. I'd rather have higher % KDs/KUs than a low-to-mid % stun. Still, EM is better at ST than say Ice Melee or SS or DB... well, until you start adding Rage or combos. It's definitely better than Mace or Axe for pure ST damage, though not by a whole hell of a lot.
Dam type? Well, at least EM isn't all smashing--the energy component is nice to have unlike say Stone or SS, or the all lethal sets too, so that's a plus. I'd rather have Ice or Fire Melee for that tho, and you'd get far, FAR better AoE damage in those two sets as well.
So yeah, I'm not that thrilled w/EM in any way shape or form. It needs help. It doesn't even look cool--I *hate* the new ET animation, btw, tho some ppl seem to like it. At least we'll be able to get rid of the *pink* pom poms in I16.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
I consider EM to be generally broken in team situations because of the animation and recharge changes. In addition to the ET animation nerf and the TF stun nerf, Barrage was also nerfed - its damage was doubled, but its recharge was tripled.
The worst nerfs were the ET animation nerf, which means that your heavy hitting combination (BU-ET-TF) takes you out of commission for more than six seconds (and also makes the ten seconds of Build Up far less effective). The set is probably very frustrating to try to get through the early levels also; the attack you are forced to take from your secondary is only available ten times per minute. It might be workable for Stalkers, and maybe for Brutes; they aren't forced into taking Barrage. But Energy Melee tankers are pretty much a closed class now. Even after level 38, the feel of the set is like swimming in molasses.
Were it only a matter of scaling back the damage done by the top tier EM attacks, it might be livable. But the animation changes more or less break the set for tankers. As Invuln, you rely on Dull Pain, maybe Unstoppable. They will not activate while you are waiting for the three and four second animations to finish playing. Inspirations are likewise unavailable. Couple that with the fact that EM still is the weakest AoE set, and you are going to have serious problems reacting to developing situations as a tanker, whether they involve your health or a teammate's.
If you play strictly solo it might be worth sticking with. I'd plan on rerolling. Willpower/Stone Melee has a similar feel, a lot more team utility, and Willpower is capable of sustaining Stone Melee better than Invulnerability can.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
I run a 44 Dark/EM tank and ET's animation have never killed me. If you play intelligently you can time when to use the attack and when to use your heal.
If you're so far over your head that you die in 2.67s of ETs animation, then you should have used DP first or sued another attack.
I agree the set lacks AoE punch, but I use whilring hands to great effect when tied with Oppressive Gloom. The ability to stack stuns is excellent mitigation.
So, decent ST damage, excellent stun capabilities and low AoE damage make Energy Melee a decent set. EM is far from broken, it's just not for everyone.
p.s. I like ET's animation.
I've been meaning to try Willpower/Stone Melee for a while now. I played through 50 levels of Invy/Stone and had a blast doing so.
On the subject of Energy Melee, I do find the recharges slower than before (I deleted my Invy/Em for WP/EM on my speedster a while back) but I haven't gotten around to slotting my attacks for recharge yet.
My build is a little off the beaten path as I'm going for a speedster rather than a tanker build so the higher end attack recharge rate doesn't mean much to me. I'll keep you posted and might even put together a guide when it's all said and done.
"I am a Tank. I am your first choice, I am your last hope." -- Rune Bull
"Durability is the quintessential super-power. " -- Sailboat
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So, decent ST damage, excellent stun capabilities and low AoE damage make Energy Melee a decent set. EM is far from broken, it's just not for everyone.
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See, that's the thing. When ET had a 1 sec animation, EM was a *great* ST damage set, which made up for its atrocious AoE damage. Now that it's only "decent", I really think it's on the low end of the tanker melee totem pole. Of course, something has to be on the bottom--I just wished it wasn't my very first tank to 50. 
BTW, Barrage changes mean little, and in fact helped the set a bit. Barrage should never have been in anyone's attack chains to begin with, but since you're forced to take it anyway...
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
It all boils down to personal preference. I dislike DB and Axe secondaries and gladly place EM above them.
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It all boils down to personal preference.
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Gonna disagree with that. If you don't happen to care about the numbers at all, then yes, it *all* boils down to what you like. If you're talking about whether a set is balanced re: other sets, there are many objective arguments you can make to show EM needs help (of course, there are arguments you can make to show EM is just fine).
For instance, you can quantify a ranking for ST damage, AoE damage & mitigation. How much weight you give each portion is subjective (i.e. personal preference). The ranking in each portion however is purely objective (well, maybe not mitigation since some ppl prefer stuns over KDs or whatever).
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
I loved my Fire/EM and WP/EM tanks before the changes. I gave them both a few months after the changes to see if I could adapt. Haven't played them since.
It was okay before to have abysmal AoE damage for some truly awesome ST damage. Now? I'll pass in favor of SS or Fire.
With my experience with a lvl 50 WP/EM Tanker.
Personally, I love what was done to Barrage! Does it recharge as fast as it used to? No. But I love the animation (1 - 2 Punch) and glad it does more damage now.
I love Energy Melee's Pink Pom-Poms. When color customization comes out, I will not be changing the color.
I hate Energy Transfere's new animation. They wanted a longer attack. Fine. I understood that. I hate the animation they made for it though. :/
Turn it into a replica of Eagle's Claw with a glowing foot, I would of been in heaven.
The turn of Total Focus from a mag 4 stun to a mag 3. Didn't bother me.
But here's the problem with the set...
Before ET's animation was made longer, I was hitting at dropped targets on teams already. Now it's more apparent, and doesn't even have a nice cool animation to go with the miss.
WHen they did this to EM, I tried it out. My tough as nails tank (IO'ed out for survivability) has now had her IOs taken out.
I'm tempted to try my hand at Energy Melee on a tanker again (I love the pink pom pom effect...yes Id love it with other colors too...still keeping them pink though), but I'll settle for the EM/WP Stalker I made instead.
I keep hearing Energy Melee is suppossed to be this high DPS set, I still don't see that either. Or maybe I just don't know the right attacks to string together in the right order.
So yes, I think EM needs some work still. Do I think it will get it? Nope.
Slot the attacks like normal. I personally skip Stun. The other attacks are up to choice.
Oh...one other bad thing about EM, that I lived with before, but never liked (and this go with other sets with the same problem)...Bone Smasher looks just like Air Superiority, so if you grab AS, it just feels sucky to use the same attack twice :/
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
To me, EM just isn't worth it unless you're soloing all of the time. The nerfs plus its mediocre AoE makes the set mediocre itself. Stone can easily beat the set when it comes to stuns and single target damage. Fault itself is an insult to EM.
If I were you, I'd just reroll into something different.
One of my first tankers that I really played was Invuln/EM, though he was semi-retired for a long time (I lost a lot of interest in Invuln after the I5/I6 nerfs).
I've tried to play him a few times since the EM nerfs and I just really dislike it. The animation and recharge changes really put off the timing of everything for me. It always seems like I have awkward pauses in my attack chain, and a lot of the Build Up buff is wasted due to long animations.
It just doesn't feel right, even solo. If I needed the slot he'd be the first on my delete list. A shame, that, for a while he was my 'main.'
Virtue:
Rockburner, Fire/Stone Tanker (50)
Doc Disaster, Earth/Storm Controller (44)
Icewall, Inv/Ice Tanker (42)
Wings, MA/Inv Scrapper (42)
Shockblast, Elec/Elec Blaster (36)
..and many others.
For Tanking purposes..and Fun..it falls short. Laughable AoE, the fast pace is gone and the retarded Energy Chirp-I mean Transfer doesn't come around till after you've done nothing but spam EP, BS and OMFG IS BARRAGE RECHARGED YET.
I love my Fire/Energy/Fire tank, but I would never do an EM character again. Too slow.
great! I just dusted off my lv 26ish Inv/EM tank.. should I reroll a Inv/ Brute instead or another Inv/* tank?
Play it yourself and make your own conclusions.
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I loved my Fire/EM and WP/EM tanks before the changes. I gave them both a few months after the changes to see if I could adapt. Haven't played them since.
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Same here. I tried for a long time to still like them, and I just can't stand them. I hate the slower times, it really changed the entire feel of the set from fast punchy to mega slow. (Some people liked it.) I also didn't like the animation change ... AT ALL. Ruined it for me.
While I totally understand the set was too good before in terms of damage (tho I didnt even have Build Up in my build at that time, so I never quite saw it) they changed the entire flavor of the set, and the damage is pretty crappy now considering the lack of good AoE and reliable mitigation (in my opinion).
But mainly it was just the style change. DO NOT LIKE. Shelved. Retired. I tried, I really did.
HOWEVER, that's just me. Since you dont have experience with before and after, and if you just like the look of your character conceptually, I say stick with it. Without anything to compare it to, and since they wont be changing your style/concept mid-career like they did to us, you may love the set just fine.
Only way to know is to try for yourself.
Lewis
Random AT Generation!
"I remember... the Alamo." -- Pee-wee Herman
"Oh don't worry. I always leave things to the last moment." -- The Doctor
"Telescopes are time machines." -- Carl Sagan
I went into playing a NRG/WP brute a few weeks back and hes now lv50. All I gotta say is that I had a blast playing the set.
Sure people say its gimped now, but for someone with no prior knowledge to set of how it used to be, and also being someone that doesnt concern himself with what he believes to be minor changes to the set, I didnt find any fault with it. Although the one AoE was kind've a letdown.
I believe it all depends on the type of player you are, if you're just looking to have a good time and beat guys to a bloody pulp wit your Fists of Doom! ( NOT POM POMS!! 
), than you're gonna have a great time. But if you're more in the tactician mindset, it'll vary.
- Im Not Talking Fast, You're Just Listening Slow.
- To Each His Own
I agree ... I have an Eng/Reg Stalker and an Ice/Eng Tanker and find both fine to play.
The longish animation times are annoying to be sure but hardly unplayable.
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1)is it still a good set?
2)What are the must have and the skippable powers?
3)Any slotting recommendations?
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1) Personally I dont think so. Its very slow and very lackluster to play. You are spending 7 seconds animating your two hardest hitting attacks, which really make this set a turd to play.
2) Must haves now are: obviously barrage on tanks because you have to take it, bonesmasher, energy punch, and usually ONE of the two endless animation attacks TF/ET, taking both will just distrupt any flow of an attack chain. You can take whirling hands if you want a pretty weak AoE, and hurl if you want some range, but neither are really spectacular. Bonesmasher and energy punch will do most all your heavy lifting now because they are fast and can make attack chaining easier.
3) slotting you want to 6 slot all the single target attacks and use a set that benefits you with either recharge or defense usually.
I am still all butthurt over the EM changes, so i might not have the opinion you want to hear, but I just cant play this set anymore as it stands now. I wont delete 3 50s because things might change, but a boring and unfun set just cannot get playtime over sets that still have some fun attached to playing them. So my 3 EM characters just sit and clog up my server space until the set is actually FIXED, and not just NERFED.
So after playing 150 levels of EM, it is no longer a set I enjoy (or even recognise as the set I rolled).
It might be easier on you if you never really knew ET for what it was and should still be.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1)is it still a good set?
2)What are the must have and the skippable powers?
3)Any slotting recommendations?
[/ QUOTE ]
1) You can take whirling hands if you want a pretty weak AoE, and hurl if you want some range, but neither are really spectacular.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hurl?
I think you're confusing EM/ with SS/. Unless im missing something here.
- Im Not Talking Fast, You're Just Listening Slow.
- To Each His Own
It's hard to believe people are saying EM is 'broken' or "decent". With those statements it's hard to believe they even have one. I have an Invul/Enrg that performs quite well with ZERO damage Io's. Its still powerful in stats alone. I've had him since Issue 3, and while the animation is longer for transfer, it makes zero difference , your not a DPS classe, but you can still out scrapp most other tank AT's with ease.
Again if you need me to show you, I'll PM you my global. I have no problems providing sufficient enough damage.
"If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything"
"You're like Giraffe's, the way you look down on me, with your vegetarian scorn."
[ QUOTE ]
It's hard to believe people are saying EM is 'broken' or "decent". With those statements it's hard to believe they even have one. I have an Invul/Enrg that performs quite well with ZERO damage Io's. Its still powerful in stats alone. I've had him since Issue 3, and while the animation is longer for transfer, it makes zero difference , your not a DPS classe, but you can still out scrapp most other tank AT's with ease.
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No you can't. Fire & Stone both beat its ST damage. Virtually everything else beats it for AoE damage. Esp w/no damage IOs (does that mean you use SOs instead?). It might be "good enough" for you, but in any empirical test, you will get left in the dust.
Since you ask if "we" even play EM tanks (I've had mine since I0, btw), let me ask you: do you play the other tank sets, and to a high level? I play 5 of them (see sig) and have experience w/other sets as well. Whatever your evidence, it contradicts my own, and I have numbers to back mine up.
If you're happy with EM's state of affairs, good for you. You're having fun w/it and that's all that matters... to you. Please don't try to convince us that it's equal to the other sets when there are direct numbers to the contrary (yes, yes, you don't care about the numbers, I'm sure).
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
I am finally leveling up a INV EM tank I have had for quite awhile, so I dont have that much experience with it.
I remember awhile ago there was a nerf and people were up in arms, so what was changed again, is it still a good set? What are the must have and the skippable powers? Any slotting recommendations?
Thanks all!