Requiem for a Nightmare; Playing as a Warshade

So, it's not often I make rambling posts (Liar - Inner Ed.) but I felt this topic deserved it.
I've long had a lot of problems with Hero Epic ATs. Peacebringers and Warshades just eluded my grasp of understanding of how to make them tick. But, recently, I tried again...and this time suceeded.

Low Levels; Hmm....Idea!

Being the sort of player who cannot play a character unless it has a concept behind it, one that I can RP, I had to get that nailed down first. But after that, the next most important question;
Human, Twin or Triform?

I have to say, the one thing that always grabbed me was the Kheldian shapeshifting ability. It was the reason I slugged my way to 50 on my first character, simply to get my hands on the shiny, morphing aliens that I had seen on teams yet did not have. The flexibility of being able to adapt to the situation as it changed drew me to triform.
Why Warshade, you might ask? Well, two reasons; 1) I'd heard better things about WS's than I had PB's and, while I had recently tried a PB again, I had not tried a Purple One for a long time. And 2? Well, the PB sound effects give me a headache. Its that simple. I like the chime sound but, every attack? Does my head in. Heh.

The first couple of levels go much the same as any other AT... Until level 6. Why? Nova form, my friends. This equates to having two travel powers by level 6, which gives you some flexibility and, more importantly, what equates to a gunship mode. Two ST attacks, two AoE attacks, all with +hit and +damage from your form? Very tasty.

The next step was to get Hasten. Now, I'd never tried hasten combined with a WS or PB before, being very much a stickler for 'One travel power, if that'. Even from the pools.
More fool me. The instant difference was impressive, to say the least. Spitting antimatter goop on mobs is one thing; rapid fire wiping out said mobs with mass AoE damage? The feeling of sheer power is fantastic.

And then comes the Mire. Get down on your mortal knees and bow before the Sunless Mire, the nastiest weapon of destruction known to man or Kheldian. Plain and simple now; if I ever see a Warshade without this, I will laugh in their face. Of course, I will then attempt to rectify their naive error, because I'm nice like that (Run! He's lying! -Inner Ed.) QUiet you!

Levelling up: Consuuuummee...

The journey beings in earnest from here. The one bit of advice for anyone reading this (that hasn't run away yet...) is this; team. If its offered, take it. Even duoing is healthier at this stage. The most impressive team I have had in a long, long time consisted of myself and two Peacebringers, both with Nova form, and five other Heroes. I didint even bother to remember the AT's; the sheer carnage we gave the Outcasts and Frostfire was incredible. I don't think I've ever seen Frosty go down so fast, and this was at the level where he gets cheaty and uses a hold and two sets of pets.

Some people skip shadow cloak. Why? Well, on the outset, it doesnt look that good. I was of the same frame of mind for a long time. But, coupled with Super Speed (You should have taken Hasten. If not, go back, put on your D cap, and do it again ) it makes you invisible. It's a multi purpose tool, now. You can ghost maps if the need arises, you can travel safely through dangerous areas (although Nova lets you do that too, but slower) and you can run up into a mobs face without reprecussion and Mire the ever loving snot outta them. *Chitter, Krrrk*

Gravity Well is the next bit of kit to come my way. I'm still torn on how to slot this little beauty; Damage? Damage is goood. But Hold duration...its great at that too. Argh! Decisions! Either way, this thing is the bane of any vermin that dares point a Void Rifle in your direction ever again, unless its Boss con, in which case you (should) have team mates to hurl in its face.
It also does great against regular annoyances, like CoT Demon Lts, just fine. You like mez? I'll give you mez!

And then we come to the big daddy; Dwarf Form. Affectionately know as 'The Lobster', 'What is that?!' and 'Argharhgh it trod on my foot!', the Black Dwarf comes with a very, very nasty tool in its arsenal; the second Mire. Yup. You get two of these things. Whats better then an ungodly, lifeforce suckung tool of destruction? Two tools of destruction! And, while the Dwarf form might need some slots in its attacks to reach full potential, it does reach it; and man does it hit like a ton of rectangular building things. The added bonus is that its a mez shield you can activate while mezzed, and is then immune to it (For the most part. Be very, very wary of Tsoo Green ink men, though, and their mass stacking stuns. They are nasty. Yes, nastier than you. Its not a nice concept, I know.)

One other word of caution; switching forms and then getting mezzed will cause the shift to cancel. If you are mezzed and shifting to dwarf form, and get another mez stacked on you, it will cancel. Be mindful, its a pain in the neg energy mass.

Stygian Circle: Let the Reaping begin!

There are very few powers that make me cackle right out the box. I love things like Omega Maneuver and Full Auto once they have slots in them, and things like Build Up and whatnot usually help out a lot from the get go. But they dont feel that...super, y'know?

Not so the Stygian Circle, the allfather of doom and destruction, the- *ahem* yeah, sorry.
Seriously, this thing needs two extra slots, tops. And, even without them, its godly. Kill two minions, and suck the recently departed life force out of them. Even unslotted, that heals a huge chunk of health a good load of endurance. If you and your team just wiped out a whole mob, you'll be back to running on full.
Stamina? Stamina is for the weak! Slot Stygian Circle for two end mod and one end red and you'll be sorted for the rest of your purplingly purple days. This is the beginning of the end...for anyone that gets in your way, that is.


So...that's it for now. As my little purple nightmare makes her way up the levels, I'll drop back and update her progress. If I remember, while busy consuming all those in my path.
Tor'kar o' nah, prey things!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Sweet! Glad to see that you're loving it.

Perhaps I'll give this a try:

Gravitic (What does that even mean!?) Emanation (What does that even mean!?)

Oh, how I love this power, and continuously rant on about it absolutely every single time I give build advice. Oh, lovable power that makes me laugh at Malta, glee as their helpless bodies are flung against a wall, and when they get back on their feet they are still dazed...meanwhile, I am switching to Nova again to pound them mercilessly into the ground...oh no, it looks like the stun is wearing off oh no---BLAST them again with it, knock 'em back to the wall, and the mobs start crying to themselves as they realize stundidly that they are perma stunned and will shortly die. But perhaps their souls can come back and aid me as a fluffy, purple shooting pet. Who knows.

Seriously, I'm positive that I love this power more than anyone else on these boards. 5/6-slot it. Throw some Acc/Rech/Stun in there. Congrats, you have a perma mag 3 AoE stun, something that controllers can't even get easily. Now go solo some Malta. Or Vanguard. All their nasty debuffs and controls don't work when they're never able to attack.

I'm very glad you're enjoying Kheldians, Techbot Alpha. Square_One, Gravitic Emanations means, if I understand correctly, that your character shoots out gravity waves (or particles) that essentially are stunning the victim because they mess with their own sense of weight/gravity-center. Something like that...