Storm Summoning Guide excerpt for feedback(Gale O2 boost)
Gale (Basic Version):
Gale is a large angle cone (it will even hit mobs that are off to the side and not directly in front of you) that will knock enemies back and deal VERY minor smashing damage: This is not an attack. Gale can be useful for keeping enemies out of melee range and away from you and your allies. Gale can also be a useful positioning power for getting mobs where you need them to get the most out of your storm powers.
Should I take it? 1/5 stars
Here I have to say no. I find the power to have limited uses. Often the people that use Gale the most, use it very poorly and give storm defenders a bad name. Also, I took the power way back in beta thinking it was a damage power (which clearly it is not) and was extremely disappointed. Although the power does have its uses, it's learning curve can be steep. Storm already has enough positioning powers (with hurricane, freezing rain, and Lightning Storm) that I feel Gale is largely redundant. Before you start spamming Gale on teams, make sure you take the time to learn to use it. If you insist on taking Gale, at least look at the advanced section.
How should I slot it? (basic version)
If you ignored my earlier advice, and took the Gale you will want to slot accuracy to make sure that when you use the power, it connects. A single accuracy slot may be sufficient but if you find yourself using gale regularly you may want to give it a second accuracy slot since it has an inherent accuracy penalty. For information on Gale slotting and IO sets, see the advanced section. Remember when slotting it is not worth slotting more than three SOs in a power because of Enhancement Diversification (read more about that here.)
Gale (Advanced Version):
What are Gale's Stats?
Available Level: 1
Average Damage: 3.61
Activation Time: 2.17s
Recharge Time: 8.00s
Endurance Cost: 7.80
Accuracy: 0.90X
Power Type: Click
Target Type: Enemies
Power Range: 50.00 ft.
Effect Area: Cone -- 50.00 ft. radius 80.00 degree arc (16 targets max)
Attack Types: AoE, smashing
Effects (at lvl 50):
3.61 smashing damage on targetStrategy:
10.39 magnitude knockback on target
10.39 magnitude knockback on target after 1.00s delay
How should Gale NOT be used?:
Gale should not be used targeting through a melee (scrapper or tanker) character. This will knock mobs away from that hero, making it harder for them to deal their damage. Furthermore, many melee power sets have powers that improve based on the number of mobs around them, so knocking all of those mobs away will hurt the melee hero. Knocking the mobs too far away from a tank can cause the tank to loose aggro (cause mobs stop attacking him and attack teammates) making things dangerous for the team. Gale can accidentally knock mobs into the next group bringing more aggro down upon your head than the team can handle. Gale used improperly will knock mobs out of your freezing rain, negating much of the mitigating effects of that power. If you are still interesting in taking this power, then keep reading
How do I use Gale as a positioning tool?
Because Gale has knockback, it can be used to place mobs where you want them. Since storm is heavily dependent on positioning, this is a tool not to be over looked. Gale can be used to blow mobs into a corner, where you can pin them with hurricane which, with its combination of repel, KB, and to hit debuff, will render them helpless. See the Hurricane Section for information on pinning enemies in a corner(in development). Once you have summoned your freezing rain, you can use Gale to blow mobs that run out back into rain (or back into any other patch type power your team might have, ice slicks, tar patches, tank taunt auras). Blowing mobs into the tanks taunt aura can be an especially effective form of damage mitigation since it will effectively stop the mobs from attacking the team.
How do I use Gale as a defensive tool?
In its most basic form Gale can be used as damage mitigation by knocking mobs down. While they're flying through the air or getting up off their behinds, they aren't attacking anyone. This technique can be especially effective if you have a corner or a wall to blow the mobs into since this way although you will knock them on their posteriors, they won't be going very far, thus avoiding many of the problems discussed in the "Ways not to use Gale" section. A wall has the added advantage of keeping them nearby, allowing another gale to be used on them when they get up. If you are going to use the KB as a primary damage mitigation tool, it may be worthwhile to but some recharge in Gale. However, the knockdown mitigation potential is somewhat reduced since Freezing rain provides a knockdown patch, which gives you the advantage of delayed mobs while they stand back up, and for which using Gale will be counterproductive since it will blow mobs out of the patch.
The other way to use Gale as a defensive tool is to knock enemies away from "squishies" (blasters, controllers, defenders). Because those ATs all have ranged powers, it is usually much less frustrating for you to knock enemies away from them then it would be for a tank or a scrapper. Furthermore, enemies in melee mode tend to deal more damage than enemies at range. Thus knocking them back will 1) provide damage free time while they are flying 2) might get them back into ranged mode dealing less damage or 3) because once in melee mode, mobs tend to stay in melee mode, it will delay them while they run back to the squishies, giving you more time to arrest them or set up other defenses.
How should I slot it? (Advanced Version):
What's the story with accuracy in gale?
I already told you earlier that you want to slot for accuracy, and here's an explanation of why! If you look at the accuracy modifier, gale has an accuracy modifier of .9, this means that against even level mobs you will have a 67.5% chance to knock an enemy back. (See the appendix for to-hit information) If you are going to insist on taking gale against my advice, then when you use it you will want it to connect. Therefore, slot some accuracy in it! To hit even con mobs at the accuracy cap, you will need 40% accuracy; at +1, 62%; at +2, 88%; and at +3, 119%. Of course +to-hit will lower these numbers as the appendix explains. In these calculations I did not take into account any of Storms defense debuffs since in most cases, when you are using Gale, you will not have the debuffs active. For a more detailed explanation of to-hit calculations see the appendix.
Should I slot KB?
Some people also like to slot knockback enhancements in Gale, mostly as a novelty build. Greater KB causes enemies to be knocked back farther. I would advise against this since greater KB can make Gale harder to use as a positioning tool. However, however enemies that are knocked back farther, are also knocked back longer, giving you more damage mitigation if you are using gale for the mitigation rather than the positioning. Gale will also accept range enhancements. Range enhancements will have no impact on the how far back the enemies are blown, but rather on how far away from you an enemy can be and still be hit by gale. Whether this is helpful to you, will depend on how you use gale.
What should I do if I want to deal damage with Gale?
As you can see, the damage in Gale is abysmally low, so DO NOT SLOT FOR DAMAGE. If you want to deal damage with gale there are a number of procs that you can use. Procs are enhancments that give powers a chance of triggering a secondary effect, in this case, additional damage.
Gale is able to accept 3 damage procs:
Explosive Strike : Smashing Damage (20% Chance)
Positron's Blast: Energy Damage (20% Chance)
Javelin Volley: Lethal Damage (20% chance)
Each Proc means that on average you will deal an additional 14.35 damage at lvl 50. (71.75/5). Go here to see how this damage scales with level.
To break this down more:
With one proc there is a 20% of dealing 71.75 damage to a target.
with two procs there is a 4% chance of dealing 143.5 damage and a 32% chance of dealing 71.75 damage
with three procs there is a .8% chance of dealing 215.25 damage, a 9.6% change of dealing 143.5 damage and a 38.4% chance of dealing 71.75
What happens if I slot the Force Feedback +recharge proc?:
If you use gale regularly, than this proc is 100% worth it. If you look on the Paragon Wiki page there is a very confusing graph, explaining how the power works. IGNORE IT! This graph is out of date and was related to a fix added to the power because the proc was set to fire 100% of the time. The Proc has since been fixed and will now have a 10% chance of increasing your recharge 100% for 5 seconds. If the proc fires again before those 5 seconds are up, the game will treat it as if the proc didn't fire. Why this proc is especially useful in Gale, is that the proc will check for every mob you hit. If you hit 16 mobs, that's 16 chances for the proc to fire (However, any procs after the first are ignored, so you still only get 100% recharge buff even if it procs on all mobs). Also the proc will not stack from the same user, so a Force Feedback in gale, and Forcefeed back in hurricane cannot combine to give you 200% recharge. Any subsequent proc, even if from a different power, will be ignored during the 5 second buff duration.
Which IO Sets should I slot?:
I think that Gale is usually better slotted using procs and accuracy, than sets but:
with 4 kinetic crashes you can get 3 points of knockback protection but to do this, you need to slot KB, and your damage slotting is wasted. Because the damage is wasted, i think all AOE sets are a waste, although for 5 slots you can get 6.25 recharge from Positron's Blast or 1.88% Aoe defense from Detonation, but there are so many better ways to use those slots. You would be better off slotting the acc/dam and damage proc form positron for the recovery buff, and then just using isolated procs and standard IOs. If you actually want more KB (**shudders**) you can decide between the Kinetic Crash for the KB protection (although there are single IOs that will give you KB protection) or Force Feedback since you should already be slotting the proc. Unfortunately, the low level set bonuses (movement speed, fear res) are lack luster and although the higher ones (10% regen, 2.5% dam, 3.13 AOE) are more worthwhile, they are only worth the slots if you are really eager for KB in Gale.
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
02 Boost (Basic Version):
A single target heal (cannot target yourself) that also provides protection from stun, sleep and end drain effects as well as +perception. Although substantially weaker than heal other, O2 boost can often be a life saver, for the band-aid heal when you don't have time for anything else or when an ally is too far away to reach with another storm power. Although it will not protect against holds, O2 boost can still be a valuable tool in protecting your teams from enemies that inflict status effects.
Should I take it?: 4/5 Stars
YES!
Storm Defenders tend to have strong opinions about taking O2 Boost or not. I fall strongly into the, "If you didn't take O2 Boost you have no business being a defender!" camp. Unless you are planning on soloing, but then I hate gale, and would rather take O2 Boost anyway.
How should I slot it? (basic version)
I really like O2 boost and use it a lot, so I recommend 3 healing and 2 recharge. If you find you have the slots to spare, or find that it is using too much endurance, add an endurance reducer. Because you have an inherent power that provides an endurance discount whenever your allies are hurt, you may find that the endurance enhancer is entirely skippable. If, however, you find that you tend to use O2 Boost primarily as a buff, when your team is at full health, you may want to consider slotting it for endurance reduction, and the heal and recharge become less important. Remember when slotting it is not worth slotting more than three SOs in a power because of Enhancement Diversification.
O2 Boost (Advanced Version):
What are O2 boosts stats?
Available Level: 1
Activation Time: 2.27s
Recharge Time: 4.00s
Endurance Cost: 13.00
Power Type: Click
Target Type: Friendlies
Power Range: 80.00 ft.
Effect Area: Single Target
Effects (at lvl 50):
heal for 177Strategy:
8.65 stun and sleep protection (60 seconds)
86.5 end drain protection (60seconds)
173% sleep resistance (60 seconds)
+108% perception (60 seconds)
Can I be a Healer with O2 boost?
At low levels, this heal is mostly a band aid that washes away when it even thinks there might be water coming (read not especially effective) but once you have access to higher level enhancements this can actually be quite a powerful heal (especially if you take Power Build Up from the Power Mastery Epic Pool which provides a 98% heal buff and also increases the resistance to sleep provided). With 95% boost from heal enhancements that's 345 points of healing and with Power Build Up it's ~520 (that's slotted heal other level). that's not too shabby, although you can only get 3-4 heals off before PDU wears off, depending on slotting. Although certainly not Storm's most powerful damage mitigation tool, usually storm's defenses are centered around certain anchors (wherever you happen to be with hurricane, your snow storm anchor, and wherever Freezing Rain and Lightning Storm are cast) and often teammates are not near these anchors. Rather than needing to run across the battlefield to a teammate on the other side (which may not be appreciated by your teammates if you're running hurricane, and may not be smart if you're pinning an enemy in a corner), O2 boost allows you to target an ally that is outside of your "storm zone". It will also have an immediate mitigation impact, making it one of your fastest damage mitigation tools. On teams with more experienced players, who are already used to keeping their characters alive on their own, O2 boost is often the only healing required on a team (especially if you are using your other tools correctly).
How does O2 boost protect my allies? (Stun and Sleep)
In addition to providing a heal, O2 Boost also provide, stun and sleep protection, sleep resistance, end drain and -recovery resistance, and +perception. Unfortunately these buffs only last one minute often making it impractical to keep everyone on the team supplied with the buff. However, the buff is not something to be overlooked. If fighting enemies that are known to have high levels of stun and sleeps (Freakshow and Malta for example) it can often be good to keep those players without mez protection (squishies: blasters, controllers, defenders) buffed, especially if you notice that certain people seem to have a play style that gets them mezzed more than others. At the low levels, you encounter many enemies (Freaks and Lost) that have significant stuns often before many non-squishies have taken their mez protection. This makes O2 Boost invaluable at lower levels. For a greater understanding of how Mez Protection and Resistance work see the appendix.
How does O2 boost protect my allies? (Endurance Drain Protection)
When fighting endurance draining enemies (Malta and Carnies) it is often a good idea to try to keep those players without endurance drain resistance, especially those who play in melee range, buffed. An 86.5% (at level 50, it scales up from 37.5% at level 2) end drain resistance basically negates the effects of Malta scrappers and carnies. This can be especially vital if a tank on the team is susceptible to end drain, as the complete end drain that the Malta Sappers are capable of can shut off a tank's toggles causing him or her to fall very quickly and leaving the team to cope with aggro for which it is not yet ready. Also, if you have evil friends like i do that make you play their AE arcs with minions that have energy absorption from ice armor (Which drains endurance and is auto hit) you will be very thankful for O2 boost.
What is the use of +perception?
Although not the most useful aspect of O2 Boost, you will find this bonus helpful in PvP situations and against the handful of enemies (Arachnos Night Widows for example) who use blind. Perhaps the most useful application of this is to O2 Boost npc allies. This way they can see you with Steamy Mist on so that you don't need to turn it off to have them follow you. This, unfortunately, does not help against non targetable allies.
How should I slot it? (Advanced Version):
If I put, the Numina's Convelescence/Miracle/Regenerative Tissue unique in O2 boost, will it affect the ally I heal?
NO! If you put these enhancements in O2 Boost then whenever you heal an ally the buff will be applied to you for 120 seconds. Casting O2 Boost again, will refresh the buff. Thus, these enhancements are much better put in health (which you had better take, because you won't do very will without stamina as a Storm Defender) where they will fire every 10 seconds, refreshing the buff and giving you effective permanent bonuses.
What about the Panacea unique?
Yes, this one will have a chance to proc on your allies, but it will only go off 20% of the time and provide them with 7.5 endurance and ~60 health.
So what should I slot in O2 Boost?
I find that recharge is the lifeblood of Storm, so if you have the money for the panacea set, put 5 of them in it(I'd keep the unique for myself in health) for the 7.5% recharge bonus, otherwise go with Doctored Wounds for the 5% recharge bonus. I would leave off the endurance/recharge because ideally you will have plenty of global recharge, and since recharge is an inverse relationship, it is subject to diminishing returns. As already discussed, endurance in O2 Boost is less of an issue because of Vigilance. If, on the other hand, you are going for a high defense build, you might consider 5 Miracle for the 1.88% AOE defense, but I wouldn't.
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
APPENDIX:
What is Enhancement Diversification and what is the ED cap?
In order to encourage players to slot more than a single attribute of a power (say damage), after enhancing an attribute of a power to a certain point, enhancements start to become less effective. (Set bonuses and external buffs remain unaffected, except in pvp.) For attributes in class A, meaning a lvl 50 SO provides a 33% buff to that attribute for a level 50 character(these include damage, recharge, accuracy, and endurance), this starts to happen at 70%. However, up until enhancing an attribute 88% the enhancements are still 90% effective, and are 70% effective up to 95%. Once you cross the 95% threshold, enhancements are only 15% effective. Thus, the ED cap means 95% or the equivalent of 3 even level SOs. More information can be found: here
What do mez magnitudes and protection mean?
The way mezzes work in the game is that if the magnitude of a mez exceeds your level of mez protection, then you are subjected to that effect. For example if you have 2 points of hold protection and are hit with a magnitude 2 hold with a 6 second duration nothing happens. If however you have less than 2, say 1.9, points of hold protection, then you will be held for 6 seconds. Mez protection vs. mez magnitude however is calculated ongoing, so if at any point your protection exceeds the magnitude, you will no longer be under the influence of the mez. Thus, casting O2 boost on someone after they have been stunned, frees them from the effect. The same can be said for sleep, although any heal or attack will bring a player out of sleep, but, being able to preemptively prevent sleep is a special feature of O2 Boost. Note, that the mez protection from O2 boost can stack with itself, so multiple applications will increase the targets sleep and stun protection!
How does mez resistance work?
Now mez resistance has no impact on whether or not you are held, but it will impact how long the hold lasts. If you have 50% hold resistance and are struck by the 6 second hold, you will then be held for 4 seconds. "Wait 4, seconds!!???" you may ask! Shouldn't that by 3 seconds? Well, no. The duration of a mez is calculated according to:
Duration/(1+x) where x is your mez resistance.
So if you have 100% mez resistance then the duration of the mez will be reduced by half:
Duration/(1+1) = Duration/2.
50% Resistance means:
Duration/(1+.5) = Duration*2/3.
Although not significant, it is worth noting that the in-game numbers report in an odd way. The reported reduction for any individual resistance assumes that it is the only resistance whereas, because of the inverse relationship, you get diminishing returns from additional mez resistance. This is why the total (true) duration listed is not 100%-the individual duration reductions. example: you have two 100% mez resistances. Each of these will list their contribution as -50% duration. However, in truth:
Duration/(1+2) = Duration*1/3 so that total reduction is -66% duration.
The duration of a mez is calculated when the mez is applied that way if you have a toggle that provides mez resistance that would be shut off by the mez, you still get the mez resistance the toggle provides. Thus adding mez resistance after you have already been held, does nothing, except to help with further mezzes which you may need to endure. Note, also, that the O2 boost provides both sleep protection and sleep resistance. So even if the magnitude of the sleep overcomes your allies resistance, your ally will only be slept for 1/3 of the time.
How do perform to hit calculations (Gale specific example)?
The details of to hit can be found here.
But I will explain some highlights here. The calculation all comes down to this formula:
HitChance = Clamp( AccMods × Clamp( BaseHitChance + ToHitMods DefMods ) ) where HitChance is the chance that you will hit.
AccMods: AccMods are a combination of your enhancement and set bonus improvements coupled with the inherent accuracy of a power:
AccMods = the power's inherent Accuracy × (1.0 + the power's Accuracy Enhancements + all global Set Accuracy bonuses)
In the case of Gale, if you have 40% accuracy from enhancements, and 12% accuracy from set bonuses, your AccMod would be (.9*(1+(.4+.12))) = 1.37
BaseHitChance: this is your base chance of hitting a mob with no modifiers:
even level mobs:75%
+1 : 65%
+2: 56%
+3: 48%
+4: 39%
additional values can be found here.
ToHitMods: For this simply sum up all +tohit (say from tactics) and all -tohit (say from dark based power)
DefMods: this is any +defense that the mob has from their powers or any -def (say from tornado or FR) that you have applied to them.
The Clamp Function means to make sure the value is between 5% and 95% and to lower it or increase it if it does not fall within this range.
So, with the Gale example above, if you are fighting a +1 mob and the mob has a 5% defense and you're running tactics unenhanced, then your chance to hit is:
HitChance = Clamp(1.37*Clamp(65% +12.5%-5%))=Clamp(1.37*72.5)=Clamp(99.3)=95% chance to hit.
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
Looks good and detailed. However, I have a couple of things I'd suggest with the Gale section.
1) Don't say "if you take it against my advice" and similar statements so often. It's almost as if "you're an idiot if you take this and I'm wasting my time telling you about this power". Advise not to take it, maybe state something to the effect you're using once, and then leave it. If they still want Gale, they'll take it. Just tell them about the power.
2) Galing foes away from squishies can be a BAD idea in a large number of cases. Have you ever whiffed powers like Fulcrum Shift, Transference, Soul Drain, Power Sink, Consume, any PBAoE attack, Choking Cloud, and so on and so forth because of ill-timed knockback? I have and have seen it many times. A Kinetic missing a critical Transfusion or a Blaster's nuke missing all but one enemy because you Galed the mob can potentially make the situation MORE dangerous than if you have used something else or nothing. However, blowing mobs away from squishies isn't a bad idea, just be certain that the squishy in question isn't in melee range for a reason.
Also worth pointing out, some squishies may play from melee range despite being a range AT for various different reasons, even if they're not blapping/scrapfending/scraptrolling/whatever. For example, on my Rad/Sonic, even if I'm not using Soul Drain, EM Pulse, Dreadful Wail, or Radiant Aura for some reason, I'll still be hanging around melee, mainly my anchor, so that any extra aggro I have stays near the anchor and gets debuffed to mush. Dropping Gale when I walked near my anchor would be rather inconvenient.
But, to summarize, include some warning/note about being wise about blowing away mobs from squishies. In some situations, it might not be helpful at all. The same could perhaps apply to Hurricane as well.
Admittedly, I only fully read the "How not to use Gale" section and skimming the rest, I'd suggest moving that section to the bottom of the strategy section.
I'm aware of your bias against it (since as already stated, you say it a lot), but to seem fair to the power, you should mention the benefits of how the powers work and how they *should* be using it before giving specifics of how *not* to use it. If they plan on taking Gale, they will, and they should know how to properly use it with consideration of when not to use it versus saying when they shouldn't with consideration on how they should. I'd consider it a topic of "Things to keep in mind before clicking Gale" because sometimes Gale can be useful for a melee character who happens to have too much over their heads, knocking part of the mob that the melee character was soloing into the rest of the mob for blaster and controller AoEs along with knocking them into your freezing rain.
You're right on it's a situational power and it's really up to the Stormer on whether they see the value in it or another power choice. However, it's a good idea to present possible scenarios that Gale could be more problematic than not to hopefully give the learning Stormer some tips. However, with how you currently have it positioned in topics, you're doing a "This is really crummy because of X, Y, and Z. Oh and if you wanna know the detailed benefit, keep reading." Let people know what it does; then let them know the concerns of the power; then let them be the judge after knowing both sides of the coin.
Just my thought on that bit.
To know my stance: I dislike Snow Storm more than Gale and dislike Moonbeam more than Snow Storm. As such Gale, O2, Gloom, and Dark Blast were my 1, 2, and 4 choices. I've come to respect Gale and use it at those situational times because of it.
50s: Bla- Arch/Mental Cont- Mind/FF, Earth/Cold, Ill/Therm, Earth/Rad Dominator- Plant/Psi, Elec/Earth Corr- Fire/Storm, Arch/Sonic, Rad/Kin, Beam/Sonic, Psi/Time Stalker- Elec/SR Def- Storm/Dark, Emp/Psi, Dark/Elec, FF/Arch, TA/Ice, TA/Elec, Kin/AR, Cold/DP, Traps/Psi Scrap- Fire/Shield Tanker- Dark/Mace, Ice/Kin Brute- Claws/WP, SS/Energy, BS/Elec
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Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
Looks good and detailed. However, I have a couple of things I'd suggest with the Gale section.
1) Don't say "if you take it against my advice" and similar statements so often. It's almost as if "you're an idiot if you take this and I'm wasting my time telling you about this power". Advise not to take it, maybe state something to the effect you're using once, and then leave it. If they still want Gale, they'll take it. Just tell them about the power. |
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Originally Posted by StormyDarkness
Admittedly, I only fully read the "How not to use Gale" section and skimming the rest, I'd suggest moving that section to the bottom of the strategy section.
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) Although I think the order will remain, I will see about modifying the language, it was intended to be seen as teasing, not condescending.Quote:
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Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
But, to summarize, include some warning/note about being wise about blowing away mobs from squishies. In some situations, it might not be helpful at all. The same could perhaps apply to Hurricane as well.
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Originally Posted by StormyDarkness
sometimes Gale can be useful for a melee character who happens to have too much over their heads, knocking part of the mob that the melee character was soloing into the rest of the mob for blaster and controller AoEs along with knocking them into your freezing rain.
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Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
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Aren't all combat allies capable of seeing you through stealth just fine? I thought it was only the noncombat ones that are affected by it.
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Originally Posted by Draggynn
What is the use of +perception?
Although not the most useful aspect of O2 Boost, you will find this bonus helpful in PvP situations and against the handful of enemies (Arachnos Night Widows for example) who use blind. Perhaps the most useful application of this is to O2 Boost npc allies. This way they can see you with Steamy Mist on so that you don't need to turn it off to have them follow you. This, unfortunately, does not help against non targetable allies. |
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Not in my experience. That's one reason that it's necessary on tasks like the ITF to turn steamy mist off once you rescue Sister Solaris. Otherwise, being unable to see any of your team she won't follow anyone, and instead just stand there or run off attacking. However, I will double check this tonight just to be certain.|
Originally Posted by Garent
Aren't all combat allies capable of seeing you through stealth just fine? I thought it was only the noncombat ones that are affected by it.
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edit: And wow....how did you get so much negative rep???
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
You can also do a jousting Gale leapfrog over a straggler to blow him into the pack. I do this a lot since I'm often hopping in and out of melee as I switch between PBAoEs and ranged cones anyway.
In more general use, backwards jousting Gale (and range slotting Gale too, FWIW) helps make placement more precise. More range between you and two targets decreases the angle between those targets, so those targets will be knocked back in a more parallel fashion. Similarly, if you're a foot or two left or right of where you should have been, or the target steps out of line, more range reduces the resulting error.
It helps to be a right-brained spatial thinker with Gale. 
O2 Boost buffing: IME healing is almost never necessary with a stormy, so I use it as a periodic buff, if I use it at all. I take the number of teammates I want to keep O2 Boosted (usually every squishy on the team), divide 60 seconds by that number to get an interval, then cast O2 Boost on the next teammate at about that interval. Blinking buff icons help me keep track. Takes a lot of concentration, so I typically only do this when exemplared to extreme low levels and don't have a lot of better powers to use, or if the incoming mez/enddrain is way out of hand. I should note that endurance usage is very much an issue with O2 Boost when used this way.
O2 Boost perception: You mentioned Night Widow blind, also remember stealthy critters such as spectrals.
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It's worth clarifying that the endurance and hp portions of the panacea unique don't fire together. It just acts as two separate procs.
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What about the Panacea unique? Yes, this one will have a chance to proc on your allies, but it will only go off 20% of the time and provide them with 7.5 endurance and ~60 health. |
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Originally Posted by Iggy_Kamakaze
I hate to be the bringer of bad news... but Willpower sucks!!! you're better off rolling a regen
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^Professional Katana/regen build thread
Oh, another Gale related thing. Hover/Fly Galeing from above. Since enemies KB away from the user, being directly above them will just knock them down, or at least in a mis-timed one seriously reduce scatter.
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Hmm, very true Rigel, I hadn't really considered that possibility since as is quite obvious, I don't use Gale with any frequency. And hurray for applications of basic geometry, and some people thought it was useless! |
Originally Posted by Rigel_Kent
In more general use, backwards jousting Gale (and range slotting Gale too, FWIW) helps make placement more precise. More range between you and two targets decreases the angle between those targets, so those targets will be knocked back in a more parallel fashion. Similarly, if you're a foot or two left or right of where you should have been, or the target steps out of line, more range reduces the resulting error.
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Originally Posted by Rigel_Kent
O2 Boost buffing: IME healing is almost never necessary with a stormy, so I use it as a periodic buff, if I use it at all. I take the number of teammates I want to keep O2 Boosted (usually every squishy on the team), divide 60 seconds by that number to get an interval, then cast O2 Boost on the next teammate at about that interval. Blinking buff icons help me keep track. Takes a lot of concentration, so I typically only do this when exemplared to extreme low levels and don't have a lot of better powers to use, or if the incoming mez/enddrain is way out of hand. I should note that endurance usage is very much an issue with O2 Boost when used this way.
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Originally Posted by Elegost
It's worth clarifying that the endurance and hp portions of the panacea unique don't fire together. It just acts as two separate procs.
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Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
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"It's" is a contraction of it is or it has. Therefore, if you can replace the "it's" in a sentence with either one of those then you are using the correct word. However, if you cannot then you should use "its" which is a possessive pronoun.| it's learning curve can be steep. |
I took the time to put that there due to the fact that it is commonly misused and I hope that others will see it.
That said, I like the structure and the consistency in the layout and formatting. Having exactly one storm defender myself (currently sitting at 30) I look forward to the rest of the guide. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
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Ssshhh. They're watching my post history. >.>
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Originally Posted by Draggynn
edit: And wow....how did you get so much negative rep???
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Fallen, I don't believe that people that make this mistake tend to have any confusion about which should be used, they are simply typing too quickly and don't bother to proofread.|
Originally Posted by FallenValkyrja
"It's" is a contraction of it is or it has. Therefore, if you can replace the "it's" in a sentence with either one of those then you are using the correct word. However, if you cannot then you should use "its" which is a possessive pronoun.
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As such classics as "How do perform to hit calculations (Gale specific example)?" demonstrate, I clearly did not proofread as well as I should have.
However, I would like to avoid such mistakes in the guide itself, so thank you for pointing that one out!
Feel free to post or PM any grammatical errors/typos you find.edit: Oh, but no one should take it upon themselves to proofread the whole thing, as this is hardly a final version and would be a waste of your time. The final version I will try to do a better job of proofreading, and at the rate I'm going that should be...oh 7 years
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
One more little bit about the +perception in O2 Boost is that it can be detrimental on aggro-happy escortees such as General Aarons, Lady Jane or Katie Hannon's soul. Boosting their perception allows them to see enemies sooner and start their Scrappy-Doo impressions.
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I would advise not saying stuff like this. Especially in the defenders forum. Asking for t-r-o-u-b-l-e...
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Originally Posted by Draggynn
02 Boost (Basic Version):
I fall strongly into the, "If you didn't take O2 Boost you have no business being a defender!" camp. |
I liked it. I'd of liked to of read more about knockback. How much Mag is required to KB what. I got that info somewhere I think and if not Culex I think done somit on it years ago (excel sheet).
Edit: I got Gale on all my stormies but its a control power.
Edit2: Heavily all for O2 as well. 6 slotted. Not a heal to me tho.
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.
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Hmm, I have never run into this problem, but then I run steamy mist constantly so their perception is already cut down significantly, I will certianly add this caveat though.|
Originally Posted by Godpants
One more little bit about the +perception in O2 Boost is that it can be detrimental on aggro-happy escortees such as General Aarons, Lady Jane or Katie Hannon's soul. Boosting their perception allows them to see enemies sooner and start their Scrappy-Doo impressions.
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Originally Posted by RabidBrian
I would advise not saying stuff like this. Especially in the defenders forum. Asking for t-r-o-u-b-l-e...
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Originally Posted by New Dawn
I liked it. I'd of liked to of read more about knockback. How much Mag is required to KB what. I got that info somewhere I think and if not Culex I think done somit on it years ago (excel sheet).
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In terms of what magnitude it takes on specific enemies, I'll see if I can find that spread sheet (since I'm not inclined to try KBing every enemy in the game).
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
Ooh, one more thing about O2 Boost I forgot to mention.
For most defenders, especially ones like Empathy and Force Fields, I recommend using the two builds, one for general teaming, one for soloing/tanking hybrid. (Or just soloing if you're a wuss.)
Never occurred to me to try the same for Storm, though, since it's only got one non-solo power, O2 Boost. But Provoke, Acro, another single target secondary, Stamina/end recovery (counter Vigilance), APP armor, or Fighting pool instead of O2 Boost and Vengeance on a second solo/tank build might have potential.
That way, no more excuses for not having O2 Boost on your teaming build.
Too bad Provoke doesn't have a range debuff like Taunt. Maybe we can talk Castle into adding it.
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So you six slot it with a heal set or heal enhancements but its not a heal to you? Because I never six slot my mez protection shields on my other toons, especially if it only covers stun and recov. |
Originally Posted by New Dawn
Edit2: Heavily all for O2 as well. 6 slotted. Not a heal to me tho. |
It seems stupid to say its not a heal, because it is. If Im having trouble with my team getting mezzed, Im definitely not calling in a stormy. Stormy's have too much going on to be bothered healing people. I take a very hands on approach with my stormy, using my cane/fr to keep my teammates safe. And I have never had someone ask for heals from me, though I have been asked for sb before.
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sleep as well.|
Originally Posted by RabidBrian
Because I never six slot my mez protection shields on my other toons, especially if it only covers stun and recov.
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Originally Posted by RabidBrian
If Im having trouble with my team getting mezzed, Im definitely not calling in a stormy.
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Originally Posted by RabidBrian
Stormy's have too much going on to be bothered healing people. I take a very hands on approach with my stormy, using my cane/fr to keep my teammates safe. And I have never had someone ask for heals from me, though I have been asked for sb before.
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Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here
Yeah my bad for slightly derailing, more or less posting in response to new dawn; she likes to post things as if she knows something and everyone who doesnt know it is a moron, which isnt the case. It more or less just makes her sound crazy, but whatever.
But you pretty much said what I was trying to say; that good storming usually means the team doesnt need heals.
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I might six slot it with some heal sets for a bonus like rechg but it's not a heal, it's more than that. I don't therefore wait for someone to need it as a heal as the buffs from it can be equally or more important. By concentrating on the other stormy sides of things you might do more mitigation for the group than you would for a single person anyway.
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Originally Posted by RabidBrian
So you six slot it with a heal set or heal enhancements but its not a heal to you? Because I never six slot my mez protection shields on my other toons, especially if it only covers stun and recov.
It seems stupid to say its not a heal, because it is. If Im having trouble with my team getting mezzed, Im definitely not calling in a stormy. Stormy's have too much going on to be bothered healing people. I take a very hands on approach with my stormy, using my cane/fr to keep my teammates safe. And I have never had someone ask for heals from me, though I have been asked for sb before. |
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.
So about a year ago (i think) I posted an excerpt of a Storm Summoning Guide for O2 boost for feedback, and then I got busy and didn't have time to get around to the rest of guide. Well, I've finally found some time and now I have O2 boost and Gale completed and thought I would get them up for another round of feedback as I work on Snow Storm.
The original target of the guide was for relatively experienced players, but those that didn't have a firm grasp of underlying game mechanics. The goal of this guide was also to be one stop shopping for any questions you might have about Storm Summoning so it is quite comprehensive (I hope). Based on feedback I have modified the structure of the guide to attempt to make it more accessible to new players, although it now has a strange combination of treating you like you know a lot and like you know nothing.
All feedback is welcome and I am particularly interested if there are any questions you have about Gale or O2 boost that you don't see answered, or information that you believe I have wrong: and without further ado, the guide.
The other sections I have posted for feedback can be found:
Snow Storm
Steamy Mist
Freezing Rain
Hurricane
Thunder Clap
Tornado
Edit: And I think the Guide is up with Gale, O2 Boost, and an appendix. I think I also got all of the links live, but if it looks like there's something that should be linked and isn't, let me know!
Draggynn on Virtue: lvl 50 Storm/Psi, 1389 badges
Draggynn's Guide to Storm Summoning(Gale-Tornado, updated 6/25/2011)
Avatar by Wassy full reference here