How fast does the Rad Debuf kick in? or How best to avoid the Alpha?

Hey All,

So, typical situation, doing a radio mish and I get to the "Boss" at the end, now I play (for now) at +2/6 with my Rad super team of one Rad/Archer and two Plant/Rads.

At this point I usually fire off three rad debufs at once, two RI's and one EF followed by two (remember I have two plants) Roots, which should in theory root the anchor and all his minions in place, but the question is, does RI and EF kick in fast enough to debuff the initial Alpha or is it going to be at full strength?

Should I consider changing tactics? perhaps opening with some creepers first and then hitting the debuffs/Roots?

Thanks guys.

Well, just from game mechanics, the alpha will *have* to be affected by at least one of the debuffs, because (if you don't get too close) the mobs are aggroing in *response* to being debuffed. For the rest of it, it depends on how fast the mobs react.

However, if I remember correctly EF casts much faster than RI. I presume you're multi-boxing and casting all three debuffs simultaneously? In that case, depending on how quick the mobs are to react, I could see them getting hit by EF and beginning to attack before RI hits them. That would be bad, because while EF does have a damage debuff, it's not nearly as strong a mitigative effect as the -tohit from two RIs.

I guess the real question is: does it seem to be working for you so far? If so, there's probably no major need to fiddle with it. If you are curious, you can use the combat logs to see if the mobs' alpha is being affected by RI - just add 'tohit rolls' to the combat channel, open your usual strategy on a mob, then after the fight go back and find the tohit rolls for their alpha and see if their tohit chance was something like 70% or 7%. If it turns out that they're not being affected, I would try delaying your casting of EF so that the RIs can hit first.

Apply RI then EF. The RI will cut down dramatically on the alpha.

Though if you are plant/rad, why aren't you opening with seeds of confusion ?

*IF* you slot RI for -to-hit, then one application is sufficient. -40% for controllers and -48% for defenders. Add in just one Maneuvers and you're effectively soft-capped for defense. If you have multiple copies of maneuvers running, then you are sufficiently over-capped even for most buff/debuff foes.

The only reason to need more than one copy of RI is either: Radius or Massive Buff/Debuff foes like Nemesis and stacked vengeance. Even then, 2 copies of RI should be more than enough.

I'd try different combinations but I'd suspect that:
Defender RI and 2xController seeds (confusing even bosses); Then follow up with Defender EF and 2xRoots. You likely don't even need the controller toggles at this point, but use them to solidify the debuffs, especially the -resistance, as needed. The extra toggles will be really good for adds and ambushes, or for pulling multiple groups into a killing field. Caltrops, Thorntrops, Tar Patch, Quicksand, and Creepers can be handy when establishing a killing field to pull to.

The killing field is one of my favorite techniques. Once you establish control of an area, toss one toggle each at maximum range onto every nearby spawn, pulling as many as 6 spawns simultaneously into the AoE/Slow/Root/Tentacles/Debuff field.

When solo I usually open with RI, then use LR on the group to slow their recharge and delay the second volley, and finally use EF.

With RI, I've found that occasionally the enemies can get off a volley before the debuff takes effect. Or worse, a few of the wanderers outside of its radius manage to land a stun or something on you. When possible, I like to cast it next to a corner, then jump out of LOS as I start the animation. Doing that, by time it aggros them, you'll usually be hidden. And then they bunch up around the corner all nice and debuffy to get to you...

Remember, RI only roots for about half of it's animation. You can always run for cover while it's still casting, allowing you to debuff in complete safety. EF and LR can't do that unless you do it mid-jump-into-cover.