I've been thinking that Focussed Accuracy seems rather overpriced myself. It doesn't seem to me that it should cost any more End than Tactics for what it does.
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
You could also slot the Rectified Reticle +perception IO into Build-Up or the equivalent. You get the benefit all the time, not only when using the power.
you could also add the 20% Perception increase by adding the rectified Unique IO in any of your tohit powers
Pinnacle
Langar Thurs-Katana/SR 50; Hejtmane-DM/DA 50
Rogue Spear-Spines/DA 50; Hypnosis-Ill/Rad 50
Sir Thomas Theroux-DM/SR 50; Melted Copper-Fire/Shield 50
Byzantine Warrior-DB/ELA 50;Blade Tempo-50 DB/EA
In my OP I wrote:[ QUOTE ]
I also realize that I could just get a Rectified Reticle IO and boost my Perception to acceptible levels, but the Guassian's defense bonuses are soooo good.
[/ QUOTE ]
Clearly I deserved a TL;DR or two 
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I've been thinking that Focussed Accuracy seems rather overpriced myself. It doesn't seem to me that it should cost any more End than Tactics for what it does.
[/ QUOTE ]
That was my thinking as well. Focused Accuracy and Targeting Drone seem to be equivalent but for the animation and the other powers in the set. I went with TD because I don't like the long recharge time of Conserve Power, whereas Web Grenade was a decent IO mule. I was stunned to realize that Targeting Drone took as much End as Tactics plus Maneuvers combined.
If I drop Targeting Drone for Tactics this will be my 7th (out of 9) level 50 character without Ancillary Power Pools.
[SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow][U]Virtue Heroes (Serenity's Children):[/U] [B]@Eek a Mouse, The Devil's Mark, Outlaw Sniper, Gas-Soaked Rag Man, Amazon Prime, Friday's Child, Hot Blooded,[/B][B]Flower of the Moon[/B], [B]Rouge Demon Hunter[/B], Stimulated Emission, Animatronic Wench, [B]Lennie Small[/B]
[U]Virtue Villains (Serenity's Orphans):[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [B]Eek a Rat[/B], [B]Bomb Blondeshell[/B], Babe Brute, Jeanne Dark, Fallen Angle[/COLOR][/SIZE]
well, you have a few options here, but my advice is to go for the leadership line, maneuvers, is great for the extra def toward soft cap, tactics is great on its own and insane with full GSF-C sloted, and assult is amazing when stacked with AAO, you can also take Conserve Power from the body pool to help for any end issues,... also being a BS you can forego any set sloting for melee and focus on range/aoe since parry will easily soft cap melee/lethal ... mako's, sciroc's, and BotZ work wonders for this
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I've been thinking that Focussed Accuracy seems rather overpriced myself. It doesn't seem to me that it should cost any more End than Tactics for what it does.
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In my opinion, TD and FA should cost 50% more than the Blaster TD they were originally copied from (although some changes have been made to them since). That would put them at .47 end/second base (.234 per tick).
I am not sure why it was decided to make them cost 2.5 times as much as blaster TD, but it is excessive.
I chose Tactics, TD/FA are so bad, its almost a no-brainer.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
[ QUOTE ]
In my OP I wrote:[ QUOTE ]
I also realize that I could just get a Rectified Reticle IO and boost my Perception to acceptible levels, but the Guassian's defense bonuses are soooo good.
[/ QUOTE ]
Clearly I deserved a TL;DR or two
[ QUOTE ]
I've been thinking that Focussed Accuracy seems rather overpriced myself. It doesn't seem to me that it should cost any more End than Tactics for what it does.
[/ QUOTE ]
That was my thinking as well. Focused Accuracy and Targeting Drone seem to be equivalent but for the animation and the other powers in the set. I went with TD because I don't like the long recharge time of Conserve Power, whereas Web Grenade was a decent IO mule. I was stunned to realize that Targeting Drone took as much End as Tactics plus Maneuvers combined.
If I drop Targeting Drone for Tactics this will be my 7th (out of 9) level 50 character without Ancillary Power Pools.
[/ QUOTE ]
In todays IO world outside a few powers or concept reasons you are better off skipping the Epic Pool IMO
Pinnacle
Langar Thurs-Katana/SR 50; Hejtmane-DM/DA 50
Rogue Spear-Spines/DA 50; Hypnosis-Ill/Rad 50
Sir Thomas Theroux-DM/SR 50; Melted Copper-Fire/Shield 50
Byzantine Warrior-DB/ELA 50;Blade Tempo-50 DB/EA
[ QUOTE ]
I am not sure why it was decided to make them cost 2.5 times as much as blaster TD, but it is excessive.
[/ QUOTE ]
Originally, FA (Weap Mastery Targeting Drone is simply an animation tweak clone of FA) was friggin' huge +tohit coupled with the +per and resistance to tohit buff. The cost was actually commensurate to the benefit. When Castle reduced/distributed the numbers, he didn't reduce the end cost along with it so it's still friggin' expensive.
Personally, I prefer Focused Acc/Targeting Drone mainly because they provide tohit debuff resistance, but also because most of my builds are already hurting for power pool choices. I wouldn't be all that adverse to a reduction in the end consumption though. We're paying for a huge buff and only getting a moderate one.
[ QUOTE ]
Originally, FA (Weap Mastery Targeting Drone is simply an animation tweak clone of FA) was friggin' huge +tohit coupled with the +per and resistance to tohit buff. The cost was actually commensurate to the benefit.
[/ QUOTE ]
It was still just a copy of Targeting Drone, as far as a I recall. I know most APP powers have penalties (longer recharge, higher end cost, etc.), but 2.5x the end cost seems like it was always steeper than it should have been. As far as I know, none of the other APP powers saw that steep an increase from the base version.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
[ QUOTE ]
Originally, FA (Weap Mastery Targeting Drone is simply an animation tweak clone of FA) was friggin' huge +tohit coupled with the +per and resistance to tohit buff. The cost was actually commensurate to the benefit. When Castle reduced/distributed the numbers, he didn't reduce the end cost along with it so it's still friggin' expensive.
Personally, I prefer Focused Acc/Targeting Drone mainly because they provide tohit debuff resistance, but also because most of my builds are already hurting for power pool choices. I wouldn't be all that adverse to a reduction in the end consumption though. We're paying for a huge buff and only getting a moderate one.
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I'm 90% certain that when FA was modified, the end cost was lowered. I remember it costing ~1.17 eps, or 50% more than the current 0.78 eps. Not sure if there is anywhere to corroborate my memory, though.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Originally, FA (Weap Mastery Targeting Drone is simply an animation tweak clone of FA) was friggin' huge +tohit coupled with the +per and resistance to tohit buff. The cost was actually commensurate to the benefit.
[/ QUOTE ]
It was still just a copy of Targeting Drone, as far as a I recall. I know most APP powers have penalties (longer recharge, higher end cost, etc.), but 2.5x the end cost seems like it was always steeper than it should have been. As far as I know, none of the other APP powers saw that steep an increase from the base version.
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It was a substantially larger +tohit buff than the original Targeting Drone, even including the higher Scrapper self-tohit buff modifier (1.00 rather than .75). IIRC, it was 20% +tohit unenhanced, but it might have been higher. It was definitely a huge tohit buff, though now it's only worthwhile for the debuff resistance.
How about you take Targeting Drone, slot it with the + perception IO (I'm pretty sure you mentioned you were using webnade as a set mule, why not do the same) If for some reason your acc gets debuffed severely you can run TD for a limited time to over come it, but in the mean time keep your guassians slotted in build up, get your perception, but not run out of end outside of situations where you need a powerful to hit buff.
*edit* Also I'd go maneuvers over assault more damage is good but between AAO and build up, and not quite being softcapped I'd definitely pick the extra defense.
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How about you take Targeting Drone, slot it with the + perception IO (I'm pretty sure you mentioned you were using webnade as a set mule, why not do the same) If for some reason your acc gets debuffed severely you can run TD for a limited time to over come it, but in the mean time keep your guassians slotted in build up, get your perception, but not run out of end outside of situations where you need a powerful to hit buff.
*edit* Also I'd go maneuvers over assault more damage is good but between AAO and build up, and not quite being softcapped I'd definitely pick the extra defense.
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I agree on the Maneuvers over Assault. I have that planned for the respec, but I may end up getting both as I will have a free slot from Shuriken.
I wouldn't want to slot Gaussian's in Build Up because of the loss of recharge. Currently, Build Up has almost exactly the recharge rate of Shield Charge, so I can use them both as soon as they pop up. If I slotted Gaussian's in Build Up there would be a 5-7 second difference, which would either slow down Shield Charge as well or mean I wasn't using Build Up for my big attack.
I never thought of using TD as a mule AND getting the Rectified Reticle +PER IO (probably would slot that in Build Up). Seems kind of redundant but it makes sense.
However I am pretty much set now on dropping the APP route altogether and going with Maneuvers/Tactics. Now I just need to decide if I want to grab Assault to replace Shuriken, or go with Confront to pull and snag runners.
Thanks for the advice all!
[SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow][U]Virtue Heroes (Serenity's Children):[/U] [B]@Eek a Mouse, The Devil's Mark, Outlaw Sniper, Gas-Soaked Rag Man, Amazon Prime, Friday's Child, Hot Blooded,[/B][B]Flower of the Moon[/B], [B]Rouge Demon Hunter[/B], Stimulated Emission, Animatronic Wench, [B]Lennie Small[/B]
[U]Virtue Villains (Serenity's Orphans):[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [B]Eek a Rat[/B], [B]Bomb Blondeshell[/B], Babe Brute, Jeanne Dark, Fallen Angle[/COLOR][/SIZE]
I prefer Tactics. I just hate the targeting drone floating around.
Plus, hey, even though I doubt anyone needs it you're providing some boost to the team.
I hate target drone but I'm pro foc acc. Only because of the to hit debuff res and the ability to pick conserve power. Pre i14, I may not have cared so much about the res to to hit debuff. (Who am I kidding. Yes I would) Its a shame there isn't a way to manage the end drain of TD in weapons mastery. In that situation, I pick tactics over TD. Or just turn the drone on as the situation calls for.
"All problems can be solved by throwing enough scrappers at it."
@Riez on Virtue, Protector, Champion, and Exalted server.
Focused Accuracy was never really a consideration for me. Laser Beam Eyes didn't fit the concept (Shuriken didn't really either but it was closer). I've never taken Conserve Power. I really don't like long recharge powers -- I end up saving them for when I "really need them" and end up rarely using them. A power that recharges every five minutes even fully slotted for recharge is just going to sit in my tray.
I don't mind the Targeting Drone animation (I had it on my first character ever, Outlaw Sniper). But the end issue is just a killer. So my plan is:
Web Grenade (6 slots)
Targeting Drone (6 slots)
Shuriken (5 slots)
will become
Maneuvers (6 slots)
Tactics (6 slots)
Assault (2 slots)
plus 3 slots to play around with (probably including a Miracle or Numina's or both)
[SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow][U]Virtue Heroes (Serenity's Children):[/U] [B]@Eek a Mouse, The Devil's Mark, Outlaw Sniper, Gas-Soaked Rag Man, Amazon Prime, Friday's Child, Hot Blooded,[/B][B]Flower of the Moon[/B], [B]Rouge Demon Hunter[/B], Stimulated Emission, Animatronic Wench, [B]Lennie Small[/B]
[U]Virtue Villains (Serenity's Orphans):[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [B]Eek a Rat[/B], [B]Bomb Blondeshell[/B], Babe Brute, Jeanne Dark, Fallen Angle[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[ QUOTE ]
Maneuvers (6 slots)
Tactics (6 slots)
Assault (2 slots)
[/ QUOTE ]
I would definitely recommend only leaving the base slot in Assault, one end reduction in that should be all you need.
The other two powers only need 4 slots as well, unless you are shooting for specific set bonuses.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Maneuvers (6 slots)
Tactics (6 slots)
Assault (2 slots)
[/ QUOTE ]
I would definitely recommend only leaving the base slot in Assault, one end reduction in that should be all you need.
The other two powers only need 4 slots as well, unless you are shooting for specific set bonuses.
[/ QUOTE ]
Set bonuses are critical for softcapping defense. Specifically, 6-slotting Tactics is the sole reason for taking this power rather than just slotting the Rectified Reticle +PER. Six-slotting Maneuvers with Red Fortune gives me some additional Ranged defense as well as recahrge and damage bonuses.
Since END issues are the reason for making this change, I think I'll want to get all three of these powers as low as possible.
[SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow][U]Virtue Heroes (Serenity's Children):[/U] [B]@Eek a Mouse, The Devil's Mark, Outlaw Sniper, Gas-Soaked Rag Man, Amazon Prime, Friday's Child, Hot Blooded,[/B][B]Flower of the Moon[/B], [B]Rouge Demon Hunter[/B], Stimulated Emission, Animatronic Wench, [B]Lennie Small[/B]
[U]Virtue Villains (Serenity's Orphans):[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [B]Eek a Rat[/B], [B]Bomb Blondeshell[/B], Babe Brute, Jeanne Dark, Fallen Angle[/COLOR][/SIZE]
I hate hate hate having my perception debuffed. It annoys me to no end when my enemies just fade away and I am standing there with nothing to attack unless I pop a yellow (and I hate carrying yellows just for this). So for much of the life of my BS/SD scrapper I've been looking forward to Focused Accuracy or Targeting Drone.
I finally got to take Targeting Drone and quickly realized that there was no way I could possibly run it and still have endurance to fight. Even after I have it fully slotted with Gaussian's, I can't manage the .45 end/sec cost.
I looked at Tactics and it only costs .39/second unenhanced and .23/second with a full kit. For what Targeting Drone costs to run, I could run both Tactics AND (Maneuvers or Assault) and get a small Def/Dam bonus for the whole team!
I realize that TD and Tactics are a bit different, but not substantially.
Enhanced TD (self only):
5% ToHit
20% Accuracy
70% Resist ToHit Debuff
60% Resist Perception Debuff
60% Perception
Enhanced Tactics (affects the whole team):
7% ToHit
36% Resist Perception Debuff
40% Perception
Confusion resistance and protection
I understand that TD has an accuracy buff on top of the ToHit and more resistances to ToHit debuffs, but for my purposes Tactics seems satisfactory. I also understand that as a Scrapper I wouldn't be getting the full benefit of Assault or Maneuvers that a Defender would. But every little bit helps.
(Assault/Maneuvers)+Tactics is the same number of power picks as Web Grenade+Targeting Drone. I'd lose out on being able to take Shuriken, but I've lived without a ranged power for a while now and I think I could make do with Temp Powers for runners (I still have 60 charges on my Bow and Arrow from Croatoa!).
So what am I missing here? Tactics or TD? If I stick with TD I either will need to get a +Recovery proc IO and stick it somewhere or continue only turning TD on when I need it. I also realize that I could just get a Rectified Reticle IO and boost my Perception to acceptible levels, but the Guassian's defense bonuses are soooo good.
Also, if I choose Tactics, do I go Assault or Maneuvers? With Maneuvers I am a bit closer to softcapping (I'm 41% melee, 38% ranged, 33% aoe right now) and I could slot Red Fortune for more Ranged Defense and with my Grant Cover my allies would get even more defense. But every Scrapper loves more Damage, right?
Thoughts?
[SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow][U]Virtue Heroes (Serenity's Children):[/U] [B]@Eek a Mouse, The Devil's Mark, Outlaw Sniper, Gas-Soaked Rag Man, Amazon Prime, Friday's Child, Hot Blooded,[/B][B]Flower of the Moon[/B], [B]Rouge Demon Hunter[/B], Stimulated Emission, Animatronic Wench, [B]Lennie Small[/B]
[U]Virtue Villains (Serenity's Orphans):[/U][/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [/COLOR][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Yellow] [B]Eek a Rat[/B], [B]Bomb Blondeshell[/B], Babe Brute, Jeanne Dark, Fallen Angle[/COLOR][/SIZE]