I play my Warshade a lot, so in Teams the Empath really changes me from stunned bunny to an evil killing machine - all with clear mind.
I usually tend to explain that before the team starts and excuse myself in advance that I WILL be demanding CM a lot and that I am sorry but that it will be quite crucial.
After this most Empaths take my "CM please!" rather kindly.
But there is the odd one that insists:
I'll give it, when you are mezzed and type zzz.
But if you stay really polite and the Empath can't complain about you asking all the time and you stay really polite, you will be able to win the CM-battle by attrition in 90% of the cases.
It can be a fairly common problem in CoH and in CoV if the buffs/debuffs aren't coming when required/at all. Reasons can be anything from not knowing how the power works to just lazyness. All you can do is point out how the power works, its benefits to the _team_ (not just yourself) and if they can't learn then just adjust your playstyle to suit and make a note not to rely on them in future.
As you've played Empathy yourself you know that its totally unlike anything else hero side in that your focus is on that team window and status icons near all the time. To me that makes it a set that makes it unsuitable for first time players who will naturally want to see the eye candy that is the ingame engine 
I must admit its usually something I put down to being drunk 
or inexperience with the powerset.
I can managed to keep cm stacked on my entire team,heal and attack usually (attacks get dropped if its getting "hairy").
But I have seen enemys mez through stacked cm before, and I have had to remind teams that the empath is usually the one person in the team WITH NO MEZ protection, unless there is another defender/troller in the team.
I somtimes think CM should be an AOE buff like recovery aura. It would be less of a chore to apply most of the time.
Id love that so much!
But i cant see it happening ever hehe.
CM's fine as is - it's just bad players that don't know what powers are usefull when and/or use them too slowly/sparingly.
Having played an Empath since game EU release, I get really annoyed with people that don't use CM correctly, even when you take to time to /t them the benefits of using the power.
Especially when you see some maverick empath deciding that they too can out damage everyone on the team, and pull massive aggro onto themselves, wasting endurance and wasting everyone's time.
I am not saying 'OMG dont blazzt n00b' or anything to that extent, but in my opinion, an Empathy defender's primary duty is to their team, and that of course is to keep them alive.
CM is a wonderful power, that really comes into it's own. And to be honest, is one of the only tools an empath has to outshine their fellow defenders.
Yes the heals are amazing, BUT rad's debuffs are better, Kinetics buffs are better, and so on.
CM costs so very little endurance, has such a fast recharge that there really is no excuse for it not to be kept on, at least squishy members of the team, all the time.
I had the misfortune of doing STF as my kin defender (with no deaths and no temp powers, I hasten to add). I think that I could count the number of times that I was CM'd by the emp defender on one hand. He was actually REFUSING to CM the team because he threw power build up and then RA'd the team, turning us (in his words) 'into regen scrappers' and therefore didn't need CM (go figure THAT one out!) It was quickly pointed out to him that A) regen scrappers have Integration for mez resistance and B) have a lot more HP than lowly squishy blasters/trollers/defenders. This fell on deaf ears. He wasn't bothered and came back with 'Well I am not being mezzed so shove off' kind of reply. What he failed to notice that I, as the kinetics, was IDing the team like crazy (since its buff-time is only half that of CM - and doesn't help against sleeps). It was only as we got to Ghost Widow, and my constant nagging, that he was spamming CM on the tank as we taunt-pulled her. But even then he had to be coerced into using the power.
I've raised this issue before about emps and not using their powers (albeit it was on the troller set - which can be forgiven a little more as it's their secondary). On a defender though it's inexcusable. They are a poor man's blaster; so whereas a troller may not be buffing because they're focusing on locking down on mobs (and hence mitigating damage/mezzes in the first place), with defenders it's their primary and it should be their main focus. Were they a newbie? Was English their primary language? All too often, I've been on teams where people get angry with a player, only to find out that either they don't speak English (or not very good English and hence don't understand the request) and/or that they're new players and either don't know how to use team chat (usually noticeable when everything's in broadcast/local chat) or don't know what their powers do (and when they level they see 'ooooh, nice power' and never use it). However, at the end of the day, it could also be a lazy (or selfish) person who can't be bothered to buff (which, again, begs the question 'why pick empathy as a powerset?) Do what I have learned to do - make a note of their name and never EVER team with them again (even better - add them to global and then ignore them)
Oh, and we managed to do STF (thanks to a kickass kin defender who kept ID and SB on the team constantly)
Well, CM is probably the most important power that the healers have and while it takes awhile to aply (yeah an AOE would be great) the Tank can go that long without heals and everyone else are just working on their debt bages anyway so it just would be cruel to keep them alive.
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He was actually REFUSING to CM the team because he threw power build up and then RA'd the team, turning us (in his words) 'into regen scrappers' and therefore didn't need CM (go figure THAT one out!) It was quickly pointed out to him that A) regen scrappers have Integration for mez resistance and B) have a lot more HP than lowly squishy blasters/trollers/defenders.
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C) "Power Build up" does not increase either Regeneration Rate or Endurance Recovery Rate. An Empath will only get any benefit from it for increasing the ToHit/Defence of Fortitude or the potency of their heals.
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However, at the end of the day, it could also be a lazy (or selfish) person who can't be bothered to buff (which, again, begs the question 'why pick empathy as a powerset?)
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On the issue of CM, whilst I don't yet have a high level Empath, I do have a high-level Sonic. Clarity is exactly the same as CM, albeit with a shorter animation time. When on my Sonic I usually fall into two "modes"...
If I'm completely alert (we're fighting enemies that use sleep attacks or "no deaths" is vital) then I will try to keep Clarity proactively on everyone who doesn't have their own mez protection. When I'm just "cruising" through missions (there's no real danger that Sonic Dispersion's AoE hold/stun/immob protection can't handle) I'll use Clarity more reactively and only people who I notice are mezzed or who type "zzzzzz".
The exception would be if there is an Empath (or another Sonic, though this is rare) on the team. That person is always first in my list of people to CM, and usually has perma-CM on them even when I'm just "cruising".
There is no excuse for an Empath who does not keep CM on their teammates in dangerous situations. Even Tanks need CM occasionally (GW is a good example, but so is Jack-in-Irons' Fear or Night Widow's -perception).
Personally, I'm pretty bad with CM. If doing something where it's really needed I will be able to keep it perma on squishies (or tank if fighting GW on STF), but usually I just tend to forget about it unless someone asks for it.
I have a Mind Control/Empathy controller and so you see how important I think CM is, I will tell you that, before I respecced out the Fitness pool and was short on power choices, I chose CM before Recovery Aura or Regen Aura.
For me, CM is one of the best powers (or even the best) in Empathy and the reason I chose the set for my controller.
Mind control is a very busy set, and Mind/empathy is really multi-tasking and, in a team of 8 against tough enemies, kinda stressful. Anyway, if you team with me and you haven't your own mezz protection (aka. "you are a squishy") you can give CM for granted. In fact, I am constantly spamming CM, Fortitude and Adrenaline Boost... and I am not a defender! I need time to control mobs!
I usually buff teammates in the time it takes to go from mob to mob. CM goes first to the defenders/controllers that can grant some mezz protection to me, then to the other defenders/controllers and then to the blasters/kheldians.
I primarily play squishies (my 50s are a blaster and a Warshade) and I know that not being mezzed is key to survival... not only to the squishy but to the whole team. Blasters mezzed => enemies live longer => some tankers may die => teamwipe.
In fact, the two things I hate about some Empathy users are: no proactive CMing the squishies and Healing Aura set on auto-fire (aaaargh!). 
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In fact, the two things I hate about some Empathy users are: no proactive CMing the squishies and Healing Aura set on auto-fire (aaaargh!).
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Agree with this fully. The one and only time I've ever used the awful "I have one at 50, so I know what I'm talking about" rank-pulling line was arguing with an Empathy defender who had to be constantly nagged by the entire team to use CM.
Several people died in their sleep with loads of time to save them; the defender in question complained it was impossible to CM and heal; given that they had Heal Aura on auto, they weren't exactly stretched! 
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In fact, the two things I hate about some Empathy users are: no proactive CMing the squishies and Healing Aura set on auto-fire (aaaargh!).
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Agree with this fully. The one and only time I've ever used the awful "I have one at 50, so I know what I'm talking about" rank-pulling line was arguing with an Empathy defender who had to be constantly nagged by the entire team to use CM.
Several people died in their sleep with loads of time to save them; the defender in question complained it was impossible to CM and heal; given that they had Heal Aura on auto, they weren't exactly stretched!
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I've played a Emp/Archery Defender to level 36. My attacks are still under slotted while nearly all my slots have gone on the Emp set (my attacks will never be amazing buy Empathy can make the difference in a team). I think the most an attack has is 1 additional slot.
As soon as I could get CM I did, to me it was essential. Normally when I join a team I take a quick look at the powers of the Tanks & Scrappers to make sure they have mez protection. Then once we start a mish (before we attack) I'll CM the Trollers/Defender/Blasters/Khleidans & any Tank/Scrapper who doesn't have mez protection (not many of those around tbh )
I always have hero stats up to see how long my buffs will last. I try to apply CM about 10-15 seconds before it runs out to give me time to get to everyone.
If a Tank/Scrapper ask for CM I give it & give it to them everytime I'm re-applying CM to the rest of the team. Certain mobs I'll apply CM to everyone.
If I am mez'd I'll always write it in team chat just so ppl know that there will be no heals/CM for a while.
I don't think I'll ever understand Empath Defenders who focus on their attack powers (get a Blaster) or those who don't use the powers they selected.
I have a /kin troller (level 44) too & I didn't select ID, just because I was focusing on my primary set. I know how good the power could be but it would never be CM.
I have come across Empath Defenders who didn't use CM before, I even came across an Empath Defender recently who wouldn't use any heal other than Healing Aura. Even though team was dying. They said Absorb Pain would kill them (best heal in the game & if they didn't attack they would have no aggro so wouldn't die) & that heals were using all their end & stopping them from attacking!!!
I guess some ppl picked Empath & decided after a while they didn't want to be a healer so just stopped using the Empath powers 
50's -
Scrappers - Xtream & Ouroboros Enforcer. Controllers - Vanguard Phoenix, Midnight Protector & Mythical Illusion. Tanks - Stone Cold Sober. Blasters - Ultimate Solution & Crey Prototype. Defenders - Lucifer - Bound. Peacebringers - Xtream Justice. Masterminds - Xtream Malfunction. SoA - Arachnid Lord
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I was confused as to why one would become an Emp/ Def when they do not use the powers to the teams advantage. We were teaming CoT and it was really hard. The mages were putting down shock waves, holding and immobilizing team, and we died several times in the mish.
After a few minutes in the mish I asked the Emp/ Def to Clear Mind all team mates, this happened once. I had to remind the Emp/ Def again, and again. I sent a message to the Emp Def to explain the power and had to quit the team as I found it so frustrating.
I suppose the frustrating thing is that I have used the Emp set up to the mid 30's and I hope I used it well. I kept the list of icons open to show me what buffs/toggles were being used, and those that were wearing off, on the toons. So why o' why would someone choose a power, not know what it does, and when asked to use it only use it once. I can appreciate that people have to learn, but do people come across this sort of thing very much? or was I just in a sensitive frame of mind!
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In the first few levels it pays not to be too harsh on anyone. I am classed as someone who can be uptight most of the time. Thats when people are past a certain level. Before that level I normally don't care. That level can vary depending on whats going wrong. Empathy can be a very challenging and rewarding set but people can play in a manner in which they are not helping. Every power has a cast time and so there is limitations in how much you can achieve within a period. Essentialy the two people that need cm are those without mezz protection. If a tanker doesn't have it by 12 then they're new, the scrapper may have to wait and always the co defender should be perma cm'd. Who perma cms the emp though? No one can and thats another reason on top of the rads debuffs that a tank should be with an aura and aggro control.
There are excuses for empath defenders not being able to always pro-actively keep the buffs up and thats usually down to team dynamics. If one is too busy having to heal everyone then they can't cm. To only worry about the tanker and blast is a possibility for an empath that all teams can achieve, yet most don't.
When not getting any needed effect from any defender its best to call for a buff up before a fight; not during it and so the leader from what is said; I might judge as at dubious fault.
People will have off days in many ways.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
CM is an amazing power.
I think that a lot of players roll an emp/* defender because it's the closest CoH has got to the traditional healer. But they don't understand the concept of buffing. Buffing and stacking of buffs is what really makes CoH powerhouses.
Not so long ago I teamed with a lvl 33 emp/psi defender who I asked for CM and he was baffled when I pointed out CM can be a mez prevention power while he was only using it as mez removal.
On the other hand, one got buffing and overbuffing. When it's not needed noone should demand the buffs they don't need. If you're in a team and not getting hit at all because the tank does a good job keeping all aggro then no need to have them bubbles nor CM up all the time.
Last note, my emp/psi defender sits at 16 because I had a severe case of instant RSI after I did positron with it and couldn't play CoH for over a week after. (Was keeping CM up all the time plus fort plus the healing in a very chaotic team.)
I'll add my 2 cents on this, even though I'm sure everything I'll say has been pretty much echoed by the previous posters;
I've played the game through getting 2 lvl 50's (scrapper and blaster) teaming with many empathy defenders, and personally having a lvl 41 emp/rad defender set to be my next 50; from that I've seen alot in the way of the buffing/clear mind argument.
Generally my frame of mind when i play my emp/rad defender is that my primary is empathy; therefore its my primary role to use all the powers which i have chosen in this set to their best use in the team, which i like to assume every other player in the team thinks aswell ^^. Clear mind is such an invaluable tool to distribute to your team-mates who lack sufficient mez protection. Before the team charges into the first mob my general order of buffing is power boost/recovery and regen auras, fortitudes and finally a round of clear mind to all who do not have mez protection such as unyielding, integration etc. Like PieterB said, there is overbuffing where buffs should not be asked for if they are not needed. As the primary buffer its a great advanced team tactic to know on cue what player requires what sort of buff; sometimes fortitide will go better on a defenceless blapper over a super reflexes scrapper, as an up close blaster will require less focus on the heals if he is being further aided by the +def of fortitude.
Most of the time my playstyle is that in a combat situation, the heals are always more sustainable than the buffs. An analogy to help me explain; a controller, in melee range, mezzed on 10% health. The heal is needed before the buff obviously, because if he has the hp, he can take the expected few extra hits/random AoE's etc whilst the cm is being applied...
Also, for example, the team's tanker, whom is holding the aggro for the more vunerable team-mates, I always make sure that is the health bar I closely watch. You can look at it 2 ways I suppose; you can say that I dont need to keep an eye on the tanker because he has the highest resistance out of all the archetypes etc etc.. Regardless, if the tank falls in combat it leaves the team fully exposed to the enemy's full untaunted focus (I always bear this in mind aswell if the enemies main damage is psionic and there is an invunerability tanker keeping aggro, for obvious reasons).
Anyway I'm drifting, enough on my tactics.. ^^
Back on the subject of "Why become a Emp/ Def?", I would say that you become an empathy defender because it suits your tastes to be the "healer" of the team. But CoH's mechanics are that an empathy defender is much more than your average "healer", infact sometimes I despair the title empaths has as "healers".. Healing is only one side of it, buffing also comes into play very largely, without buffs and just pure heals, an empath would be nowhere near his full potential.
Although it is seen as your duty to protect the team, there sometimes are occasions where you have to question your team-mates style, not your own. It is not your fault if you can't keep the trigger happy, leeroy jenkins-esque blaster up and alive, it is also largely up to the players themselves using a bit of wit and co-operation to stay alive and on their feet; this duty shouldn't always fall on the "healer".
The main reason i chose an empath as my first main toon was because i liked the feeling of that when the team has bitten more than it can chew, a good empathy can save ANY team.
A good example of this would be when in a mission we (a PUG btw) somehow managed to agro 3 seperate groups. Keeping the team alive was hard enough as it was but when they accidently "freed" two hostages in the midst of all this, another 2 groups joined the action. As you can imagine the group was takin heavy damage and everyones endurance was runnin low since the battle was going on forever
However due to constant heals/cms/forts/RAs we won Yes the easier and more logical option wouldv been to retreat until it was safe again, but imo the game is about constant against the odds action and thats where having a good empathy comes into play. Find a good empathy, knock the difficulty up and just let rip into the enemy mobs.
The only drawback about being an emp is that on "easy" missions you might be seen as leeching which then raises another problem.
Do you build a pure "keeping the team alive/buffed" toon?
or
Do you build a toon that can add something to the attack force in the group?
On a sidenote if my warshade was teamed with an emp, there would be nothing it couldnt handle
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
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"Why become a Emp/ Def?"
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For alot of people that's been playing CoH a while, got at least one or two 50ies and can't claim the defence of ignorance about powers as newcommers to the game can, I have a feeling that the answer to that question is: To show that you can do it better than all the inept empaths you played with.
I don't always compare one empath to another.
Teams differ, builds differ, enemies differ and dynamics differ.
As a tank I could make someone look good, lazy, useless, pointless having or whatever. All at once to someones perception.
Only in how well they keep buffs up can I properly see what they are trying to do. For other people, its not the buffs its the heals but sometimes if you have to rock the aura etc then something is wrong. Prevention is better than cure. I don't like to think "heal this one, then that one, quick AP that one, so and so needs heal other then ap followed by more heal other then ap so I better stay with him" because I know that, things don't have to go down that way. Everyone traffic lighting at once means something is gone wrong and the damage versus heals goes either one way or the other. People can be taking more damage than a healer can support all of them at once with. A lot can happen in small instances, and people answering a call to cm someone can't in that moment also heal someone else. In short what the team does matters, if as a kin no one is within range of the transfusion target they can't be healed, as an empath if everyones spread or there is a lack off aggro control and everyone needs the equivalent of AP at once then they can't be helped. I cm over empaths but don't get cmed back. I get held and they save the team and get all the thanks. I read buffs as a tank, def and controller and I watch healthbars as any. The map is up and the team can split or someone can create a fight point with more aggro than a team can handle (I admit as a mind controller its very nice to somehow manage to occupy up to 5 groups at once but lets face it, its avoidable).
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
I find it pretty funny how everybody here is blaming the defender in question. True, there are a fair amount of times where the defender in question is to blame (too lazy, too inexperienced, whatever..). However dont forget there is an other side to the story.
When playing with an empath (or other buffer for that matter), there are alot of people that think that buffs should be available for them, when THEY want it. Screw the other player, he needs to focus solely on YOU! People often tend to forget, said empath might be busy with something else and just hasnt gotten around to CMing. For instance take said example bout STF.. i'd rather use absorb pain and heals on a tank that has a hard time, then spam CM on that squishy who bravely ran into that other mob. Btw, this is rhetorical as i dont have an empath myself, but do have a kin, sonic, ff and cold.. so got my experiences with buffing people.
Nor do people tend to understand an empath cant CM when they are mezzed themselves, out of end or whatever the reason (what, they cant?!). When I play my kin, i always keep the buff window open, and apply a constant stream of SB and normally people arent ever without. However, it does get on my nerves when for instance:
1) people shout "SB plz!" when they are away from the rest of the team somewhere else on the map
2) I'm busy in my cycle of SBing the team, but because of some interruption I havent reached everyone on the teamlist yet, and that 1 millisec without SB they start whinging bout SB. Hold on, you'll get it in due time!
3) That nice sapper decided to drain all my end and I got no end to apply buffs on ANYONE. Followed by people still begging for SB.
4) see 3, but with being mezzed
5) I got a fair load of enemies chasing me cause my nice team didnt bother to: tank em, kill em, kill a bunch of freaks and bother watching for rezzers etc.. Sorry, but i cant buff you if im running/fighting for my life, you want me to help you? well then help me as well!
List can go on and on and on.. Just remember that sometimes theres a reason why you dont have CM on you yet. It could be the defender had to prioritize (and shame its not you that got prioritized). Dont forget emp defs are players too and, especially in a team, not your personal buffbot that does everything YOU want it to do.
PS. Not counting PvP blaster duo buffbots 
"god, how many devs did hami have to sleep with to get ED?"
Total Cat @Stagefright
You're taking it in the extreme. There's a world of difference about people able to buff but not doing it at all and others doing an excellent job but the game not being understood by selfish people.
(And on my /kin I have a macro stating that the tank can ask for speedboost but I might get annoyed when others ask too often.)
From my own experiences average Empaths are uncommon. You seem to get very aware people with a good understanding of of how their powers work and in what situation they are best, or simply awful Empaths who you ignore as a healer and perceptive buffer, simply because you cannot rely on their heals or judgement.
I think what gets to me most however is ignorance about what your power does. I'm all for people learning too, but surely people read what a power does before they choose it.
It's a tragic moment when an Ogre is charging towards you while your stunned but near full health and the Empath heals you..
The Smoking Demon
Ash/Tar Corruptor
Union
@The Smoking Demon
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It's a tragic moment when an Ogre is charging towards you while your stunned but near full health and the Empath heals you..
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Although I dare say that many good empaths have done that on occasion just by virtue of hitting the wrong button...
If one of my empaths does that to you it's because I tend to place CM inbetween fort and heal other.
Of course, the difference is whether that happens once every few hours or all the time.
By my mohawk shall ye know me!
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I just wanted to raise an issue. I was teaming on a team of 4 at about lvl 12, 2 Def (Emp/?, Rad/Rad), 1 Scrap, 1 Tank.
I was confused as to why one would become an Emp/ Def when they do not use the powers to the teams advantage. We were teaming CoT and it was really hard. The mages were putting down shock waves, holding and immobilizing team, and we died several times in the mish.
After a few minutes in the mish I asked the Emp/ Def to Clear Mind all team mates, this happened once. I had to remind the Emp/ Def again, and again. I sent a message to the Emp Def to explain the power and had to quit the team as I found it so frustrating.
I suppose the frustrating thing is that I have used the Emp set up to the mid 30's and I hope I used it well. I kept the list of icons open to show me what buffs/toggles were being used, and those that were wearing off, on the toons. So why o' why would someone choose a power, not know what it does, and when asked to use it only use it once. I can appreciate that people have to learn, but do people come across this sort of thing very much? or was I just in a sensitive frame of mind!
@Eiceman
Morphius - MA/Regen - Union
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