What would you rather have?

Last week, I was recruited to a TF team. My Defender is L33, FF/Nrg+Flight/Ldr.

Having recently respecced, my solo build (no team bubbles) was fully slotted and working well. My Team build (with the bubbles and fewer attacks) was completely unslotted.

I informed the team leader of this, and asked if she would prefer me to switch to the team build. I informed her that my Dispersion Bubble plus other defensive measures were nearly as effective as the bubbles, and that I would rather stay on the solo build so I could fight, too. She said I was recruited for the bubbles, and should switch builds.

I did so, and we began. I found the team rarely stayed together and often moved so fast through the maps that I didn't have time to bubble people, so I switched back (I didn't mention it, to avoid any grief). There was little change in the team dynamic, except that I was now able to fight alongside the team. No one noticed that I had changed builds.


My question is, what would you have preferred if you were the team leader? Would you have preferred an unslotted buff-bot to a solo oriented but effective Defender?

Just curious.

I would have preferred whichever one you could do the most good in, unless we absolutely needed those bubbles for some crazy reason. Don't get me wrong, bubbles are good, but you certainly can do without.

I'd have told you to play the one you have the most fun with.

This game isn't hard. Having fun is the key.

I cringe whenever i'm in a pug that starts requesting spesific powers.

We need a stone tank... when any tank or more buff/debuff will do.
We need a RAD. We need a KIN. We need a HEALER. No, you don't. You need PEOPLE. People who want to play and have fun. Thats all.

I have little tolarince for people trying to dictate how others play or what they should play. I always suggest to teamleaders, hey, that TA over there can debuff well enough, grab him, or, that fire tank is fine... ect. Most listen, some don't. *shrug*

I'll second what KingSnake has said. Even if the entire team was made of odd, unusual builds, unfinished post respec characters etc., playing as a team will impact it more. Might take longer and folks might die more but if everyone is having fun I'll take that any day over an efficient speed run where I don't have fun for whatever the reason.

That said as far as what might benefit me most in a hypothetical sense it's really going to boil down to who I'm playing. As an example, if I'm on my 2500+ hours played well IO'd and purpled claws/sr I'll take your solo build over bubbles, more defense adds virtually nothing to her survivability. Tactics and Assault plus offense from you adds quite a bit more. If on the otherhand I'm playing my up and coming not yet 50, not yet soft capped DM/SR brute those bubbles even unslotted or unenhanced are likely the difference between being soft capped and not, and that's a HUGE jump in survivability and my overall effectiveness against massed Cimeroran's. The big bubble might put me there as well, but it's an anchor so to speak, I have to stay within to get the buff and if I move too fast to the next spawn or around the next bend or ... and "anyone got vengeance?".

I would have given you a million inf and asked you to slot your team build with some DO's.

As much as your solo build may be useful for soloing I can't see it being much use on a team and the reason you recruit a bubbler is for bubbles, otherwise why recruit a bubbler?

I know that is harsh but you yourself have a team build and you did that because you know what powers a team needs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

I would have preferred that your team build was useful to the team

But if you didn't have time to bubble people anyway for some bizarre reason then I guess you may as well just use a solo oriented build because that is how you ended up playing on the team.

I'm just busting your chops, but I'm not sure what you want us to say?

I would wonder just how much difference there is between your team and solo builds. FF is hardly so tight a build that you can't fit a decent attack chain in easily.

The builds have similarities, but the team build has the team bubbles and sacrifices the fighting pool altogether in favour of the leadership pool at an earlier level. I also included Force Bolt in place of Power Blast. The issue wasn't that the team build wouldn't be effective, it's that it would need to be slotted to compete.

Either way, I did (and do) have my own opinion, I was just curious what people might say about this kind of thing (I wasn't seeking validation, I was just starting a discussion).

You should know your characters better than anyone and after seeing what was going on you made the call. The team leader could of had you in a team build to start as a precaution and noticed you had made that call.

I guess I don't understand how you didn't have time to bubble people. I play a Cold/ defender and keeping Ice Shields on my teammates is not very difficult even on a Speed ITF run where chaos is abundant and teammates run every which-way.

Either way, it's best to play the build which you find most effective and fun.

...and go fill the slots in your team build for next time.

Depends on the team.

Sounds like the team really didn't need the bubbles, so not a big deal.

hmmm, well preferred a person to do the job that they're expected to do, as a teammate. Your soloist dynamics drastically change when you're teaming w/ others.... now you're not quite playing just for yourself, but voluntarily w/ others, having a goal greater than an individuals'.

armchair quarterbacking is pretty useless at this juncture, and at least from your observations you took the right course of action considering the team dynamics....

its good to have access to different builds. but if you plan to team w/ peeps, having a team-centric build should be your priority. If the TL (teamleader) was a bit more hardcore and more tighter grip on their team, they may have kicked you off. I know when i organize TF's, i expect those who voluntarily commit to be fully prepared and fully able to offer their powers and resources to the team to ensure success.

i know peeps are throwing their nice sense of idealisms around, and in the end, its our game, your character. But when you start playing with others, that whole thing changes.
Success doesnt always equates fun.....
and fun doesnt always equates success....

Slotted vs unslotted trumps all other considerations. Really, the best response when recruited for that TF would've been "I'd love to go but I can't right now, I have to go slot my build"

I've taken untraditional builds onto teams before and as long as the players were upfront about it, I had no problems welcoming them. With that said, what I dislike is dishonesty. If I'm taking a defender over a blaster for the last team spot, I better see some buffs and not some oddball offender build.

This is not exactly the case with your situation, because it sounds like the TF wasn't that hard anyway, and it wouldn't have mattered what build you decided to bring. However, I would still be bothered by the fact that you decided to change builds mid TF. Maybe not enough to kick you from the TF, but probably enough to not invite you to future ones. The issue doesn't boil down to build in my opinion but honesty.