Strong AT Combos using SO only?
Scrapper - Katana or Broadsword with WP and Regen, DM/SR
Controller - anything with Rad
Corruptor - Fire or AR with Dark, Fire/Sonic/Archery with Rad
Best with just SOs, all ATs:
*/* MM
SS/WP Brute
On the buff/debuff side, Radiation Emission (as Fury mentioned), Dark Miasma, Storm Summoning, and Kinetics do great with just DOs. (For Defenders, at least.) Even the SOs are gravy. The "bubble" sets Force Fields, Thermal Radiation, Cold Domination, and Sonic Resonance are fine with just SOs. Only the most recharge intensive buff/debuff sets, particularly Empathy, really rely on LotGs, Hasten, and expensive set recharge bonuses.
Tanker/Scrapper/Brute: Invulnerability/Dark Melee
For a Corr Fire/Dark and Fire/Traps both do just fine on SO's
On a Defender just about anything with Traps/ is almost to easy even on just SO's
Global: @Kelig
Only the most recharge intensive buff/debuff sets, particularly Empathy, really rely on LotGs, Hasten, and expensive set recharge bonuses. |

Every powerset in the game is quite playable with just SOs, and mostly they all perform similiarly (for their intended purpose, it's hard to compare two different ATs and say which is performing 'better').
Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!
|
When it comes to SO builds, one of the things that I think many often overlook is that not only do they lack set bonuses, they lack the increased enhancement percentages that come with IOs. My standard slotting for attack powers is the equivalent of 3 damage, almost 2 acc, and about 1 end and rech - in 5 slots with level 30 IOs! You can't do that with SOs at all. So not only do you want to pick powersets that work well with no set bonuses, you want powersets that can compensate for lower enhancement percentages.
For scrappers, my personal choice would be dark melee/invul. Tohit buffs in invincibility and the long-lasting, accurate soul drain offset lower accuracy, and dark melee's incredible bag of tricks makes up for having no survivability-oriented set bonuses. Even dark consumption, maligned as it is, could help with endurance issues. Only real problem is that it'll be a very tight build - you may have to forgo a travel power.
For controllers and corruptors, the answer is always the same: radiation emission. It brings everything an SO build needs: defense debuffs to help you hit, and recharge and recovery buffs to help you keep on hitting. Not to mention how strong of a survivability set it is and how many skippable powers it has, allowing you to really beef up your primary. For corruptors, dark miasma and traps give it stiff competition, and you couldn't go wrong with either of them, but rad is still a front runner.
For controllers, choice of primary probably depends on whether you are more interested in supporting the team or doing damage. For the former, I'd suggest earth, for the latter fire. Illusion and plant can somewhat fulfill both roles, albeit not as well as the specialists.
For corruptors, I'd suggest fire for your blast set. Fast recharges on the tier 1 and 2 blasts makes it much easier to string together a chain, and the strong damage all around lets it make a very good showing even on SOs.
@MuonNeutrino
Student, Gamer, Altaholic, and future Astronomer.

This is what it means to be a tank!
For scrappers, my personal choice would be dark melee/invul. Tohit buffs in invincibility and the long-lasting, accurate soul drain offset lower accuracy, and dark melee's incredible bag of tricks makes up for having no survivability-oriented set bonuses. Even dark consumption, maligned as it is, could help with endurance issues. Only real problem is that it'll be a very tight build - you may have to forgo a travel power.
|
As for the original question, most of the buff/debuff sets are very, very strong with SOs only. Cold, Rad, Kinetics, Dark, etc.. All of these are behemoths without any set bonuses.
Member of:
Repeat Offenders Network - The Largest Coalition Network in the Game, across Virtue, Freedom, Justice and Exalted. Open to all, check us out.
Current Team Project: Pending
I also think Kins do well with just SOs, a fair number of their powers don't even take IO sets, and they have powers that boost recharge, damage, endurance etc. so don't need IO sets as much for that. Their powers also tend to be on short enough timers that they don't need much +recharge (if you get bored playing a kin on a team, you are in the wrong game .
Another vote for katana/wp.
An off-topic vote for at least using frankenslotting when the IO is cheaper and better than the generic, or very costly in the long run, SO.
I also think Kins do well with just SOs, a fair number of their powers don't even take IO sets, and they have powers that boost recharge, damage, endurance etc. so don't need IO sets as much for that. Their powers also tend to be on short enough timers that they don't need much +recharge (if you get bored playing a kin on a team, you are in the wrong game
![]() |
@SBeaudway on Pinnacle, TaskForce Titans Supergroup.
Masterminds are good on SO's. Recharge doesn't help most that much, as they do fine as-is, and extra defense can be 'meh' as well, as bodyguard and support sets make you plenty survivable.
What are the stronger AT combos using primarily SOs only (general gameplay/mainly solo and duo) ? I am most interested in Scrappers, Controllers and Corrupters, but any worth mentioning would be appreciated.