6 years, 0 respecs (Empathy ITT)

Ok folks, I'm looking for some feedback & a sanity check on the planned respec of my main Emp/Energy character.

First a little history...

The character in question was created in the middle of September 2004, and hit L50 mid-January 2005. I do have a screenshot to prove this :-) . Since that time, this character has never, ever, ever, been respecced. I have no idea how many free-specs I've flushed by never using the first one. The build I am still using is a classic "Pre-ED" build with things like 6 slotted Stamina/Hasten, 7 of 9 Emp powers are either all Heal or Recharge (or in the case of Fortitude, 6 Membranes), and 3 of 4 atttacks are 1 Acc/5 Dam. So after many Issues of saving and buying and plotting, I think I'm about ready to do a serious overhaul.

Note about power selections: A while back, I bribed lowbies of various levels to exemplar me down for a minute or two, and in doing so I was able to figure out roughly at what points I took what powers. Yes, I did actually take Stamina at 35. In doing this build I tried to aim for +Recharge and +Heal as much as I could.

Hopefully helpful Q & A Time!

Q. Numina/Miracle/LotG/Decimation/Hope you got lots of $$$

A. 90%+ of the Enhancements used in this build have already been purchased & I have a ~1.1 billion Inf budget if needed. Over time I've managed to collect 3 Numina sets of 5 pcs. One thing I was hoping to get opinions on would be what Heal set would be best for what Heal power.

Q. Why Elec Mastery ?

A. I can distinctly remember always having END problems as I played. I tested the various EPPs on Test before they came out, and the idea of a PBAoE "Press button for END!" power seemed like the best idea. Plus I was going to use Thunderstrike as a way to mitigate things beating on me in melee.

Q. You should take Tough/Weave/Leadership Pool/why have 2 travels?/OMG you have 3 attacks + Nuke!?/Other power suggestions

A. I would like to stay as close to my original historic build as much as possible. The combination of Freebird +Stealth and Superspeed will give me cheap Invisibility. I had never really considered Leadership powers back then, due to my End problems. I figure all Emp powers + the ability to stealth & TP through missions is enough utility for the teams I run on. As to Nova, I like being able to (sort of) blow up things every so often :-) I have NOT used my alt build at all, so if a drastic altering of things could be show to be highly beneficial, I could give that a shot.

Ok, thank you for reading, any advice would be appreciated.

HMO

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HMO Medic: Level 50 Technology Defender
Primary Power Set: Empathy
Secondary Power Set: Energy Blast
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Electricity Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Healing Aura -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Heal(3), Dct'dW-Rchg(3), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(9), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(17), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(23)
Level 1: Power Bolt -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(11), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33)
Level 2: Heal Other -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Heal(5), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(17), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Dct'dW-Rchg(25)
Level 4: Power Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(11), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34)
Level 6: Resurrect -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9)
Level 8: Clear Mind -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 10: Hover -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(43)
Level 12: Fortitude -- LkGmblr-Def(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+(13), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(13), AdjTgt-ToHit(21), AdjTgt-Rchg(29), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg(36)
Level 14: Fly -- Frbd-EndRdx(A), Frbd-Fly(15), Frbd-Stlth(15)
Level 16: Power Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(37), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42)
Level 18: Recovery Aura -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(19), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(31), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(31), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(50), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 20: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(21)
Level 22: Recall Friend -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 24: Super Speed -- Run-I(A)
Level 26: Regeneration Aura -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-EndRdx/Rchg(27), Numna-Heal/Rchg(27), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Numna-Heal(37), RechRdx-I(37)
Level 28: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 30: Health -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(45)
Level 32: Adrenalin Boost -- Numna-Heal/Rchg(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Numna-Heal(33), Efficacy-EndMod(34), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(34), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(36)
Level 35: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(36)
Level 38: Absorb Pain -- Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(39), Mrcl-EndRdx/Rchg(39), Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx(40), Mrcl-Rcvry+(40), Mrcl-Heal(42)
Level 41: Nova -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(42), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(43), HO:Nucle(43)
Level 44: Thunder Strike -- Rope-Acc/Rchg(A), Rope-EndRdx/Stun(45), Rope-Acc/EndRdx(45), Rope-Stun/Rng(46), Rope-Acc/Stun/Rchg(46)
Level 47: Charged Armor -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(48), EndRdx-I(48), EndRdx-I(48)
Level 49: Power Sink -- RechRdx-I(A), EndMod-I(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 0: Ninja Run
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Set Bonus Totals:

• 4.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 4.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 0.94% Defense(Fire)
• 0.94% Defense(Cold)
• 3.75% Defense(Energy)
• 3.75% Defense(Negative)
• 1.88% Defense(Psionic)
• 3.75% Defense(Ranged)
• 1.88% Defense(AoE)
• 4.5% Max End
• 7% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 2% Enhancement(Stun)
• 37.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 19% Enhancement(Heal)
• 4% FlySpeed
• 129.7 HP (12.8%) HitPoints
• 4% JumpHeight
• 4% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Held) 4.95%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 5.5%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 4.4%
• 7.5% (0.13 End/sec) Recovery
• 90% (3.82 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 3.47% Resistance(Fire)
• 3.47% Resistance(Cold)
• 1.26% Resistance(Energy)
• 4.39% Resistance(Negative)
• 2.52% Resistance(Toxic)
• 2.52% Resistance(Psionic)
• 4% RunSpeed

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Whoa, this is VERY different from what I would do. I can sort of understand wanting to keep your same powers since there's a certain nostalgia to it, but there are a lot of missed opportunities like using electric fence instead of thunderstrike because it does better damage and thunderstrike's disorient is only a 50% chance of happening to the main target, not to targets in the area. This would let you drop power burst and pick up something like energy torrent, which is amazing damage mitigation, or aim to boost the effectiveness of the nova+power sink combo. I question the philosophy behind updating a legacy build's slotting in light of new enhancement rules, but not its power choices in light of five years more knowledge of how powers work and interact with eachother.

If it's a legacy build it should be a legacy build. If it's not a legacy build, then it shouldn't be treated like one. Doing it half way seems like an attempt at gradually letting go. You'd probably be better off taking advantage of dual builds so that you can have both.

Fair number of slots used where I wouldn't. Some are personal taste, some probably would be best moved around. Overall the build will do well enough for most general pve play but I'd say there's room for improvement as well.

Heal Other and Healing Aura - 6th slot in both of these is rather optional, bonuses gained both in enhancement and set are minimal at best. *shrug*

Power Bolt and Power Blast - consider taking the 6th slots from HA and HO and adding them here, then putting Explosive Strikes chance for smashing damage in those slots.

Resurrect and Clear Mind - A 2nd slot in both these would definitely not be what I'd do. And I wouldn't slot Clear Mind for recharge in any case. Range or Endred, using it proactively I'd drop an endred in there, used reactively I'd slot range, unsure which go with range. The animation here is the killer and you can't alter that. One of these slots needs to head to Hasten, it's the one you want slamming hard against ED for recharge.

Hover -
Q: What level of foes do you intend to be able to effectively combat?
Hover (much like Combat Jumping) is a marvelous place for all sorts of fun special IO's such as LotG +7.5% rech (which you have), Kismet +6% to hit, -kb (both BotZ and Karma) and Winter's Gift. I'd consider moving 1 or 2 slots here to slot Kismet and a -kb IO at minimum. Kismet on an Empath I don't usually do ... but then I usually have Tactics for some +To Hit. Without it anything more than about +2 cons atm and you'll need outside buffs or debuffs to keep from rapidly heading into "I can't hit anything" country. Kismet is no Tactics but it will push you to +3's before the 'missed' float text gets worrisome. How much of an issue that is depends on your tolerance for missing and what you tend to fight.

Fortitude - not what I'd do, but think this one falls more into the realm of personal preference than anything. Hard to disagree with any sort of slotting in Fortitude that maxes defense and recharge, the rest is gravy if you've the slots for it.

Power Burst - Nothing wrong with Thunderstrike, it's an excellent set but ... why it and not another Decimation? It's a change in focus in the build away from recharge and towards a range defense build.

Recovery Aura - Hmmm, I've never done anything other than 3 recharge IO's. More endurance is really fairly useless until you push it up to near +1000% to start countering nuke crashes and the set bonuses *shrug*

Hasten - 3 recharge IO's

Recall Friend - I'd slot a BotZ or Winter's Gift in here or something else ... let your global recharge take care of the recharge here.

Super Speed - I often enough have no travel powers in these days of Ninja Run. On the otherhand my Emps rarely don't have a true travel power still. But personally I'd choose one of the other and not have both. And my preference these days is typically Swift with Flyers and Hurdle with Super Speeders.

Regeneration Aura and Adrenaline Boost - The enhancement values of the powers themselves good, set bonuses *shrug*. I'd slot both with Doctored Wounds. Global Recharge for my Emps always takes a high priority for my general teaming builds. Given the potential to slot 2 sets of Obliterate (with their +5% recharge) later on I could see staying with the current slotting in one of the 2 powers.

Absorb Pain - The slotting/set used here along with Thunder Strike are probably the two things in the build I'd most heavily urge you to alter. I don't use AP, none of my Emps have ever had or felt a need for it ... but a full set of Miracle baffles me. The unique should be largely wasted if used here. Can't imagine the team you'd need to be playing on to actually need to use AP ever 2 minutes or so. Which leaves you the option of not benefiting from the +recovery or firing it at someone who doesn't need the heal and running the risks associated with doing so to gain the buff.

Nova and Thunder Strike - 5 slot and slot with Obliterates would be my first choice. I'd definitely strongly recommend slotting Thunder Strike for damage first and foremost, then once you're ED capped slot to taste for stuns etc..

One thing that I would expect, just from eyeballing it, is that your end problems will entirely go away. I don't know how you were slotted on your attacks [1/5 acc/dam?] but looks like you've got 40%+ endred in nearly every power.

Another thing, and this is minor I know, is that you could frankenslot Charged Armor and get more for less- four high level Res/End (Aegis, Titanium, Reactive and *flinch* Impervium) and you should be capped on both. I will admit I have trouble NOT putting a Steadfast Res/Def into every build because it's just so good. 6% off incoming damage, bare scant minimum. So you could swap out the Impervium for a Steadfast Res/Def.