So, what would the essential primary picks be for an offensive empath team?
I'd guess (bear in mind I've never played an empath above level 4 before) the key powers would be clear mind, fort, AB, heal other and both RAs. Healing aura would be useful, particularly at low levels, and it would be nice to have a couple of people with resurrect, although by no means everyone would need it. I'd activly avoid AP, simply because it would be really annoying on that team to be unhealable for any amount of time.
I wouldn't bother with the fitness pool, simply because of the amount of RA and later AB getting thrown about. I'd pick up hasten for the recharge.
Here is a very rough, non-slot build, using elec just because I quite fancy it.
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder - (http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php)
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Name: Offensivly Built Empath Number 1
Level: 50
Archetype: Defender
Primary: Empathy
Secondary: Electrical Blast
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01) --> Heal Other==>
01) --> Charged Bolts==> Empty(1)
02) --> Lightning Bolt==> Empty(2)
04) --> Ball Lightning==> Empty(4)
06) --> Healing Aura==> Empty(6)
08) --> Hover==> Empty(8)
10) --> Short Circuit==> Empty(10)
12) --> Fortitude==> Empty(12)
14) --> Fly==> Empty(14)
16) --> Aim==> Empty(16)
18) --> Recovery Aura==> Empty(18)
20) --> Clear Mind==> Empty(20)
22) --> Resurrect==> Empty(22)
24) --> Hasten==> Empty(24)
26) --> Regeneration Aura==> Empty(26)
28) --> Tesla Cage==> Empty(28)
30) --> Assault==> Empty(30)
32) --> Adrenalin Boost==> Empty(32)
35) --> Voltaic Sentinel==> Empty(35)
38) --> Thunderous Blast==> Empty(38)
41) --> Dominate==> Empty(41)
44) --> Mind Over Body==> Empty(44)
47) --> Telekinesis==> Empty(47)
49) --> Tactics==> Empty(49)
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01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Vigilance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
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Dead Calm's Defender Manifesto
Something like this good for empath/psi?
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder - (http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/index.php)
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Name:
Level: 50
Archetype: Defender
Primary: Empathy
Secondary: Psychic Blast
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01) --> Healing Aura==> Heal(1) Heal(3) Heal(7) Rechg(15)
01) --> Mental Blast==> Acc(1) Dmg(9) Dmg(37)
02) --> Subdue==> Acc(2) Dmg(3) Dmg(5) Dmg(9)
04) --> Heal Other==> Heal(4) Heal(5) Heal(7) EndRdx(15)
06) --> Combat Jumping==> Jump(6)
08) --> Clear Mind==> Rechg(8)
10) --> Hasten==> Rechg(10) Rechg(11) Rechg(11)
12) --> Fortitude==> Rechg(12) Rechg(13) Rechg(13) TH_Buf(43) TH_Buf(46) TH_Buf(46)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)Empty(23)
16) --> Telekinetic Blast==> Acc(16) Dmg(17) Dmg(17) Dmg(23)
18) --> Recovery Aura==> Rechg(18) Rechg(19) Rechg(19) EndMod(40)
20) --> Will Domination==> Acc(20) Dmg(21) Dmg(21) Dmg(25) Rechg(34)
22) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(22)
24) --> Assault==> EndRdx(24) EndRdx(25)
26) --> Regeneration Aura==> Rechg(26) Rechg(27) Rechg(27) Heal(33) Heal(34) Heal(34)
28) --> Psionic Tornado==> Acc(28) Dmg(29) Dmg(29) Dmg(31) Rechg(31) EndRdx(31)
30) --> Super Speed==> Run(30)
32) --> Adrenalin Boost==> Rechg(32) Rechg(33) Rechg(33)
35) --> Scramble Thoughts==> Acc(35) Rechg(36) DisDur(36) DisDur(36) DisDur(37) Rechg(37)
38) --> Psychic Wail==> Acc(38) Dmg(39) Dmg(39) Dmg(39) Rechg(40) Rechg(40)
41) --> Oppressive Gloom==> Acc(41) Acc(42) EndRdx(42) EndRdx(42) DisDur(43) DisDur(43)
44) --> Dark Embrace==> DmgRes(44) DmgRes(45) DmgRes(45) EndRdx(45) EndRdx(46)
47) --> Soul Drain==> Acc(47) Rechg(48) Rechg(48) Rechg(48)
49) --> Dark Consumption==> Acc(49) Rechg(50) Rechg(50) EndMod(50)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Power Slide==> Empty(1)
01) --> Sprint==> Empty(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Empty(1)
01) --> Vigilance==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Empty(2)
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I ran up this quick one for Emp/Sonic:
Name:
Level: 50
Archetype: Defender
Primary: Empathy
Secondary: Sonic Blast
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01) --> Healing Aura
01) --> Shriek
02) --> Scream
04) --> Heal Other
06) --> Hasten
08) --> Combat Jumping
10) --> Shockwave
12) --> Fortitude
14) --> Super Jump
16) --> Clear Mind
18) --> Recovery Aura
20) --> Amplify
22) --> Shout
24) --> Acrobatics
26) --> Regeneration Aura
28) --> Siren's Song
30) --> Assault
32) --> Adrenalin Boost
35) --> Tactics
38) --> Dreadful Wail
41) --> Oppressive Gloom
44) --> Dark Embrace
47) --> Soul Drain
49) --> Vengeance
Looks like you had the same idea I had - use the excessive regeneration and healing on this team to feul a perpetual Oppressive Gloom 
I look at a full empath team and I just see a lot of powers going to waste beacause of stacked leadership and sub-par damage potential.
Keeping CM up on the whole team constantly gives status protection... so does perma, stacked 8xAM. Lots of it.
Boosting damage/defence/accuracy with fortitude.. hmm well defence is pretty much capped, or close to it with 8 maneuvers on any defender superteam anyway and debuffs would cover the rest. 8xManeuvers alone would be enough to eat an alpha and by then the debuffs are in effect. Three stacked forts give 75% base damage increase? Pah. Even a single kin can do that pre-fulcrum and that's not even the same boost that 3 damage SO's give you. Stacked resist debuffs and AM will have you at the damage cap with a lot less fuss.
I just don't see an empath superteam coming close to a rad one and there is a lot of buff recycling for an empath team whereas the rad team can contribute even more by simply gathering for an AM splurge every so often. A sacrifical victim teleported around could also provide fallout carnage although I would imagine that with 8 defenders at the damage cap pretty much any spawn would melt when faced with one or two capped regular AoEs from every defender.
A lot of defender superteams could do more than the empath team and a lot easier. 8x tar patch+DN, 8x freezing rain+SS+Hurricane, 8x EF+RI+AM, 8x TA debuffs etc etc. The most offensive would probably be the 8xTA or 8xStorm team since with 8 defenders there are zero defence issues. They just lack status protection. Kinetics is probably the most redundant one because almost all defender teams can cap damage and defence.
8xempath? hmm meh. Anyway, I have a brand new lvl 11 rad/rad, NighHaunter has a 7 rad/rad and Ace Cobalt has a 7 rad/elec so if anyone else would care to join us on Defiant then give me a shout on @Alith. You just need RI, EF and AM and a secondary of your choice (preferably one with several AoEs) and if we get enough people regularly we could do a rad defender night a couple of times a week and respec into heavy leadership in the 20s.
AM has no status protection. That's status resist, doesn't stop you getting mezzed. Besides, the only reason for doing this is not because it's t3h l337, but to show empaths can do more than just heal. Or to fail showing that. Plus, empathy will mean we get lots of regen, too.
Well I already mentioned earlier that all-Kinetics or all-Radiation teams would be stronger than an all-Empath team. We're not under any illusions here.
This isn't an excercise in min-maxing, this is just trying something a bit different.
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trying something a bit different.
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HERETIC! You are only allowed to play the officially sanctioned Min/Max builds!
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This isn't an excercise in min-maxing, this is just trying something a bit different.
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Yup.. no altera motive.. no.. "lets make this uber" then "oooooo maybe I can pvp"..
it's all about doing something different.. that's all my idea every was
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hmm well defence is pretty much capped, or close to it with 8 maneuvers on any defender superteam anyway
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With 8 people, that's 20%def, and 3 slotted, all of them, 31.2% def. Don't look like near the cap to me 
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AM has no status protection. That's status resist, doesn't stop you getting mezzed.
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Oh dear, it doesn't? Well sod that for a game of soldiers then. Any room in the non-min/max empath team?
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With 8 people, that's 20%def, and 3 slotted, all of them, 31.2% def. Don't look like near the cap to me
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Apparently it's 4.66% base for defenders, about 7% slotted. x8 =56% but then I've seen about a zillion apparently true values for leadership values thrown about the EU and US boards a hundred times so who knows what the real value is? There are people practically beating each other to death with different copies of the Prima guide (which is quite often incorrect anyway) over on the US boards over the leadership toggles... Ok maybe they aren't quite doing that but it's a fun visual image.
Says 2.5% base in my planner. Meh.
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With 8 people, that's 20%def, and 3 slotted, all of them, 31.2% def. Don't look like near the cap to me
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Apparently it's 4.66% base for defenders
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Many values are floating around for Maneuvers, the free I7 addendum to the Prima guide* lists Maneuvers as a base 3.5% which is apparently before AT modifiers. 4.4-4.6 sounds like a reasonable value for Defender Maneuvers.
56% is hardly anywhere near the cap though, that's closer to 200%. But if everyone on an all Emp team keeps one other teammate covered with Fortitude then Maneuvers should not be needed.
*The updated Prima guide uses numbers provided by the devs, link.
I didnt think there was a def cap
**Acceptable "support" responses**
Its your fault
Its your computers fault
Its your ISPs fault
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I didnt think there was a def cap
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There is a cap to how much Defense you can get, it's just extremely high and rarely reached. It is, however, something different from the Chance-To-Hit floor and cap (5% and 95% respectively).
When most people use "Defense Cap" they refer instead to the "Chance-To-Hit floor", ie. the minimum 5% chance of hitting. They are related but not the same.
There is also a To-Hit buff cap and again many people confuse this with the "Chance-To-Hit cap" of 95%.
Positron or Castle posted the numbers a while ago on the US forum, in response to some chatter about the mob rank Accuracy/To-Hit changes iirc.
This all empath team going ahead? Yes or No?
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This all empath team going ahead? Yes or No?
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Are people considdering an all empath team? I didnt read the whole post.
Why oh why? Its a pretty bad combo, well prolly just as good as the random PUG, but prolly not much better.
Defs do 50% dmg of a blaster, and when fort is the only buffer, that means slow lvling.
A Paragon Defender
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This all empath team going ahead? Yes or No?
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Are people considdering an all empath team? I didnt read the whole post.
Why oh why? Its a pretty bad combo, well prolly just as good as the random PUG, but prolly not much better.
Defs do 50% dmg of a blaster, and when fort is the only buffer, that means slow lvling.
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It's to see if empaths are able to do this sort of thing, and just general to show it off if they can. 
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This all empath team going ahead? Yes or No?
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Are people considdering an all empath team? I didnt read the whole post.
Why oh why? Its a pretty bad combo, well prolly just as good as the random PUG, but prolly not much better.
Defs do 50% dmg of a blaster, and when fort is the only buffer, that means slow lvling.
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Because I think you are very (very, very) wrong.
A team in which everyone is going to have a 90%acc bonus, a 90% damage bonus, a 90% defence bonus, a 30% recharge boost, the equvilent of double or triple stacked stamina and regen at a level that makes IH look like utter rubbish in comparison and in which everyone is nigh on completely unmezzable is not poor.
It is utterly, completely, totally unkillable, and probably shouldn't bother doing anything less than +4s.
Also, defenders do 65% of the damage of a blaster, not 50%.
Dead Calm's Defender Manifesto
If anyone wants proof we can gather together some 50 Emps at some point and show off?
DON'T eat muffins while I'm developing you.
Pants! Turkey Magnates! A man in a box! Rogue AI! Come one, come all, to arc ID 10107 - It's [i]'Not as long as some other arcs'[/i]!
I'd be up for doing the Empath thing, if we have 8 interested parties and a semi-regular timeslot in which to play them.
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This all empath team going ahead? Yes or No?
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Are people considdering an all empath team? I didnt read the whole post.
Why oh why? Its a pretty bad combo, well prolly just as good as the random PUG, but prolly not much better.
Defs do 50% dmg of a blaster, and when fort is the only buffer, that means slow lvling.
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I dunno, I remember running with the 8 man bubbler def team and herding the hallows of +6s (at lvl 5) it was nuts and we drew quite a crowd. Of course the good stuff in emp is late on.
**Acceptable "support" responses**
Its your fault
Its your computers fault
Its your ISPs fault
I took this thread to heart over the weekend and rolled a PSI defender albeit a Kinetics.
Having only just reached lvl 9 I am somewhat of a buff-machine. With Siphon Speed and Haste I can double stack SS and triple stack Siphon Power already! I'm not even on TO's yet.
Against single targets (Lead Brick bosses) being fave I can span Subdue and be ready to hit them again before the Immob wears off. Plus although the first attack is pants the -recharge is a nice feature when combined with SS.
The only thing I would say is that the decent attacks in PSI are late coming but the toon feels pretty immense already.
psi is also getting better as the root on the first attack is lessened in i8
**Acceptable "support" responses**
Its your fault
Its your computers fault
Its your ISPs fault
I'm up for a bit of all empath action
Dead Calm's Defender Manifesto