Quote:
I use Hurricane quite a bit. I hate it when people use it all the time, but it certainly can be effective at the right time. I agree that it is situational, but I look for situations where I can use it. |
Originally Posted by Sweetmeat
I took Hurricane at 49. To me there were other powers that were always more handy, including Spirit Tree at 47(as a place to park a couple Numina's enhances).
Hurricane is really only useful against things that are strongly resistant to confuse(Nemesis Robots mainly) and maybe to help debuff an AV. Snowstorm + Hurricane will work on things that resist confuse, but it's messy, and you run across them so seldom you really don't even need to take Hurricane at all (thus at 49). Snowstorm however is very handy against bosses so I take it pretty early. If you're having trouble with multiple bosses on a pull, you can Roots them so they don't get close to you, and Snowstorm till Seeds recharges to keep them from shooting at you much before you turn them into minions. Or until you can double stack holds on both of them(requires slotting you hold for hold rather than damage). This works well both solo and on teams. |
Anytime I see a Cul-de-sac, it is fun time. Turn on Hurricane to stand in the opening, then let loose with Lightning Storm and Tornado and any other AoE damage powers. Same thing works with a room with only one door.
Is the group too spread out? In the right situation, I can turn on Hurricane and run around the outside of the group to bunch them up. This works really well with an AoE Immob, since you can still push foes who are Immobed.
Did the fecal matter just hit the fan, so that your squishier teammates are being overrun with melee foes? Hurricane gives them a Sanctuary in a ring around you. It works as a nice "panic button" power to protect against melee attacks.
Hurricane works great for those "keep away" missions like the Respec trials, protecting desks, Escortable NPCs who can be killed, keeping Repairmen away from the Towers in the STF and a few in Croatoa.
And of course, you can trap foes in corners and jags on walls while substantially debuffing their ToHit. This works well on some tough foes.
I find enough uses that I keep Hurricane handy at all times. I have a button on my mouse and a bind so that I can turn it on and off with the touch of a thumb. I find Hurricane useful as soon as I can fit it in my build.
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Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
Stryker, I hear you about simply tweaking a pre-existing build.
Hurricane's clearly a power that people have a huge range of opinions about - to some people, it's essential; to others, useless.
Hurricane is a good of example of why my recommendation to Dave is to read everyone's advice, but rather than simply taking any one build as 'best', figure out where the advice is coming from and really think for yourself about whether you want a power or not and how you should should slot it.
Stay flexible - I often change my mind on slotting as I develop a toon based on liking or not liking certain powers more or less than I thought I would.
Snowstorm? Again, your mileage may vary. I find it meh - useful in certain circumstances, but usually not worth the endurance drain, and thus the the power slot. But others love it, so read up for yourself and make an informed choice.
I'd suggest Snow Storm at some point if you solo for one main reason: fliers. Plant's main damage comes from Roots and Entangle (at least pre-epics), and those don't work on flying targets. You can hit Snow Storm long enough to drop a flier and immobilize him, then turn it off again and the endurance use is minimal.
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Quote:
I agree with your advice about staying flexible. There are a few instances where the general opinion on a power is pretty negative, but I have tried it and liked it. For example, I have Repel on my Kin/Electric. I don't use it very often, but I find it fun to have, and useful as a rare "panic button" power. Yet this is generally viewed as the worst power in the Kinetics set.|
Originally Posted by MaxLongstreet
Stryker, I hear you about simply tweaking a pre-existing build.
Hurricane's clearly a power that people have a huge range of opinions about - to some people, it's essential; to others, useless. Hurricane is a good of example of why my recommendation to Dave is to read everyone's advice, but rather than simply taking any one build as 'best', figure out where the advice is coming from and really think for yourself about whether you want a power or not and how you should should slot it. Stay flexible - I often change my mind on slotting as I develop a toon based on liking or not liking certain powers more or less than I thought I would. Snowstorm? Again, your mileage may vary. I find it meh - useful in certain circumstances, but usually not worth the endurance drain, and thus the the power slot. But others love it, so read up for yourself and make an informed choice. |
I usually attempt to try out most powers at least once. I even tried out Black Hole out of the Dark Miasma set recently . . . and found out that I hated it even more that the "general view" would suggest. But at least I can say that I tried it. Some powers seem pretty underwhelming when you first take them or on certain builds, but then become great on a different build or with practice. Hurricane is one of these kinds of powers. Same with Snow Storm.
Snow Storm is an important power on my Ice/Storm. Arctic Air is his melee slow power, while Snow Storm is his ranged one. It is not as useful most of the time on a Plant/Storm because of Seeds . . . but when Seeds misses or you have just used it or you have a group of fliers to bring down, it can be a nice power to have.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
I took Hurricane at 49. To me there were other powers that were always more handy, including Spirit Tree at 47(as a place to park a couple Numina's enhances).
Hurricane is really only useful against things that are strongly resistant to confuse(Nemesis Robots mainly) and maybe to help debuff an AV. Snowstorm + Hurricane will work on things that resist confuse, but it's messy, and you run across them so seldom you really don't even need to take Hurricane at all (thus at 49).
Snowstorm however is very handy against bosses so I take it pretty early. If you're having trouble with multiple bosses on a pull, you can Roots them so they don't get close to you, and Snowstorm till Seeds recharges to keep them from shooting at you much before you turn them into minions. Or until you can double stack holds on both of them(requires slotting you hold for hold rather than damage).
This works well both solo and on teams.