What would YOU run with these three characters?

Looking for some thoughts. My small regular group is soon going to be starting a new "super team". There are four of us that run our characters only when we can all get online together. We used the level pact for our current set, 3 Corruptors and a Brute. We've just hit 40 and are starting to think about our next group. We decided to go Hero next. So far the other three guys are thinking of creating:

Dark/Dark Scrapper
Dual Blade/?? Scrapper - looking at either Dark, Fiery or Super Reflexes
Plant/Storm Controller

I was thinking of doing a Plant/Kinetic Controller until the third guy said last night that he was going Plant/Storm. I'd like to not do the same Plant primary. No partiular reason, just because. We routinely up our difficulty to Invincible around level 20, and will be IO-ing these characters, though won't be using Purples. We try to do any TFs that we can (Not many Blueside with only 4 of us) and will probably try a Respec trial along the way too, just for the fun of it. I am considering the following, but am open to other suggestions as well, but keep in mind that I plan to play either a Defender to Controller:

Kinetics/Ice Blast Defender
Kinetics/Archery Defender
Kinetics/Sonic Defender
Earth/Kinetics Controller
Gravity/Kinetics Controller
Ice/Kinetics Controller
Trick Arrow/Archery Defender


So, my questions are:

1. If you were going to create the fourth member of the above team, what would you choose?
2. If you were one of the scrappers above, which would you prefer?
3. If you were playing the Plant/Storm controller above, which would you prefer?
4. Why?

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If Controllers are an option, I'd go with either Ill/Rad or Ice/Rad for the debuffing */Rad offers and the control/tanking/damage that the Illusion/Ice sets can mix in.

If you have access to Kheldians, and are looking for a character that would always be busy with this team... I'd suggest a TriForm Peacebringer that would blast/scrap/tank for the team with ease.

Seeing however as one of your mates is a Plant/Storm Controller, maybe you'd want an even stronger Controller-type so a Grav/* or Earth/* would also be quite awesome.

As I've never played Scrappers (they bore me to death) and haven't tried Plant/Storm, I can't comment from the point of view of your buddies... sorry.

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I believe that a Kheldian Gold Standard should be based on SO's, and for anything above that... there's Platinum!

Save Ms. Liberty (#5349) � Augmenting Peacebringers � The Umbra Illuminati

I don't really know how to answer your questions, but that Kin-heavy Defender and Controller team is going to be a freaking steamroller on nitro. I really wouldn't worry about what to pick in a game where you can already accomplish pretty much anything with a competent team.

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I have a Plant/Storm at 46 and a TA/Arch at 46; cannot comment on Scrappers as I don't typically play them.

I would tend toward the TA/Arch because the debuffs it adds will really leverage your team's offense. The drawback is that it is a pretty "clicky" powerset to be playing, and some folks get frustrated by drawtime animations and such.

Glue Arrow is a GREAT slow, but Acid Arrow is the real prize as far as debuffs in the early going. Disruption Arrow likewise adds some great debuffs. Your team will hit harder and hit more often, and the baddies will attack less and hit less often. Poison Gas Arrow does some fine debuffs as well, but is not as crucial; it is more icing on the cake, and any Sleep that it causes will be short-lived anyway with a Plant Controller about.

Archery is really not going to add a lot of offense for a good long while, except some single target plinking. Fistful of Arrows is a cone, but damage is nothing to write home about, likewise, Explosive Arrow is AoE but underwhelming. Blazing Arrow is a nice, hefty attack, but still single target.

But about the time Oil Slick Arrow makes its appearance, you will be able to add some pretty substantial offense. HELPFUL HINT: Make your Origin either Tech or Magic so that you can use your origin temp power to light the Oil Slick. I bound the O key to Target Oil Slick, so I hit O and 9 (for my Taser) and in a nonce, Oil Slick is ablaze and flambeeing the baddies.

Not long after, Rain of Arrows shows up and if you pop Aim and fire it off, it is a fine AoE attack that racks up some good numbers. It is up pretty often and friendly to Endurance. Indeed, I did not take the Fitness pool on my TA/Arch and have not missed it, which I cannot say for any other hero.

Now you may not "need" Glue Arrow as much if you have a Plant Controller using Snow Storm. Grouping baddies will be fine with their immobs and Carrion Creepers. Seeds of Confusion will negate tons of incoming damage, but your debuffs will help team speed A LOT in downing the bad guys. Likewise, the Plant Controller will have 02 Boost and possibly the Healing Tree, so the Defender=Healorz will not be the case.

Ice Arrow will stack with Plant's Strangler and hold Bosses from the git-go, which is another plus.

Plant/Storm is a great set, and I think TA/Arch would be a great fit, but be aware that you will be mostly debuffing for a long while, and your AoE damage will not really show up until the 30s. I really enjoy it, but YMMV.

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"How do you know you are on the side of good?" a Paragon citizen asked him. "How can we even know what is 'good'?"

"The Most High has spoken, even with His own blood," Melancton replied. "Surely we know."

A rad/sonic defender might be a good addition as a fourth member of the team. I have one that I like a lot -- and it would add some things that your current lineup is lacking a little:

1) It has excellent debuffs.

2) Although small in supply, Radiation does have an AoE healing power and a rez power ("Mutate").

3) The sonic secondary set has good ranged damage, most of which debuffs the Dmg Resistance of the enemies you hit. It also has a Sleep power that might come in handy as you're rapidly rolling through large groups.

That's my two cents!

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I'd go with the Kin/Sonic defender. When you get to the point that you're fighting AVs (a 4 person team will spawn AVs on Tenacious difficulty, if I recall correctly) the Kinetics will boost the damage output of the whole team, and the -res from Sonic will also increase the teams damage, possibly even ABOVE the damage cap, since -res is not counted when the cap is calculated.

Any of the kins will work, but that combo will fill a hole that you will have in the late game.

I advise the second scrapper also take Dark Armor, a pair of Oppressive Glooms both running at once will stun bosses. A kin will help a LOT with their endurance issue in the low levels.

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I like the Radiation set. It's got an AoE Heal, Accelerate Metabolism (which increases damage and endurance recovery and recharge), a damage debuff, a damage-resistance debuff, accuracy debuff, rez, regen debuff, a group pseudo-hold (choking cloud)..... it's got about everything you'd need.

With a defender, sonic blast pairs well with it because you can debuff damage-resistance even further. With a controller, I found it teams very well with Plant, but really, it should complement anything you choose.

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Thanks for all the input! I'm going to stay away from Radiation Emission this time. I already have a 50 Rad/Dark Defender, a 50 Mind/Rad Controller and a 43 Ice/Rad controller. Not that I don't like Rad, I just want to do something else this time.

I only have 1 TA character, an Ice/TA at level 10 on an alt server that I only play to shuttle around for the Day Job badges so I'd like to try a TA, but I know that the Dark/Dark is very much wanting a Kinetics for the SB, Transference and Fulcrum Shift fun. I was kind of hoping that one of the other guys would go Kin, but I don't mind playing Kin, just what to pair it with, so that's where my possibilities above came from.



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I advise the second scrapper also take Dark Armor, a pair of Oppressive Glooms both running at once will stun bosses.

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I actually mentioned this to the second scrapper, my brother.


[ QUOTE ]
A kin will help a LOT with their endurance issue in the low levels.

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Yes, lots of toggles in /Dark


Luckily I still have about 9 levels of Corruptor to get through while I contemplate.


Thanks all!

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Unexplained Investigations Supergroup on VICTORY!
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Just a thought, you could go Kin/Elec Defender and suck endurance (big time) from the mobs, leaving them without any means of fighting back

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I believe that a Kheldian Gold Standard should be based on SO's, and for anything above that... there's Platinum!

Save Ms. Liberty (#5349) � Augmenting Peacebringers � The Umbra Illuminati

Having played pretty much all those combos (except kin/archery), i have to say that my favorite, by far, is my kin/sonic defender. So much so that i rolled her twice. (Once for teaming with specific friends once for totally soloing.) So, if those were my options it would be kin/sonic all the way.

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You really could not go too far wrong since you are playing with folks you know and work well with. In that situation, anything will be an asset.

I enjoy Rad and Kin. They are great powersets, and have much to recommend them, and I have also played Ice a great deal. I got the feeling you were looking for something a bit different. Obviously, what you bring to the team as a Kin and as a TA will vary, and while SB is SB, TA/Arch ultimately will bring tremendous debuffs, a GREAT AoE Hold in EMP Arrow and some killer offense with Oil Slick and Rain of Arrows... it just does not bloom until the 30s.

Good luck with your contemplations and your team!

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"How do you know you are on the side of good?" a Paragon citizen asked him. "How can we even know what is 'good'?"

"The Most High has spoken, even with His own blood," Melancton replied. "Surely we know."