SD (and other res based sets) how do you?
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
How do you deal with crazy accuracy buffs (Nemesis vengeance, DE's crystals)?
|
A: defense based, not resistance
and B: tohit buffs, not accuracy
I hate to be the bringer of bad news... but Willpower sucks!!! you're better off rolling a regen
|
^Professional Katana/regen build thread
You can do two things: Not fight them, or pop purples until your defense is high enough.
The hit-code is unfair for defense sets. Resistance debuffs increase damage done to a target by the percentage of the debuff, so resistance sets don't have to worry about taking much more damage than they already are taking. Defense debuffs had the potential to make you take more than double the damage on the first application and then start taking 3, 4, and 5 times more damage than you originally took. Defense debuff resistance helped reduce that issue, but getting close to 100% DDR is only possible with certain builds. To-hit buffs on the enemy end up being a direct counter to defense. Instead of multiplying their hit chance by the percentage, it effectively lowers your defense by the value of their buff. A change to that system is needed in order to make the game fair for both resistance and defensive sets.
(DEFENSE based of cours, sorry)
How do you deal with crazy accuracy buffs (Nemesis vengeance, DE's crystals)? |
DE: Use a macro to target Guardians and Quartz. Both destroyed asap, moving out of the los of any DE within the area of the Quartz buff. Liberal use of Shockwave's kd/kb
Rularuu: Kill the eyeballs and be glad they don't buff the entire mob like Quartz do. Relatively rare to fight ... really have to go looking for them to end up fighting them much.
Arachnos: Much fun. Tarantula Mistresses and Fortunata Mistresses get the most attention. Probably have the least +to hit buffs but far more exotic (toxic and psi) damage types across the board than the others above. Banes are annoying, spend a lot of time catching them within Shockwave targeted at other arachnos (or just not required to target --> Spin) due to placating. In general the toughest foes to eliminate a particular one to make the mob significantly easier, almost the exact opposite of DE who become trivial by comparison once the Quartz/Guardians are dispatched.
I avoid DE. They're pretty easy to avoid at 50. When I can't avoid them, I Shield Charge into the mob instead of gathering them up for Soul Drain first. The knockdown keeps them from spawning the quartzes right away, so I can kill the quartz spawners before they do so. If they drop one, I generally drop dead, since I play at high difficulty so they kill me in seconds. My /SR Scrapper, with no Shield Charge, just avoids DE.
Nemesis are easy, I pull the spawn around a corner (so they won't Vengeance the next spawn) and kill the Lieutenants last.
Rularuu, I kill the eyeballs first, and fast. Once those are down, they're just like any other enemy group. If it's an eyeball-heavy spawn, I eat some oranges first.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
Orange inspirations, for one, as a general rule. But I take Tough as well.
Never really had a problem with Nemesis. Just have to kill the lieutenants last. That's more tactical than an out-the-gate issue. Same for Quartz emanators from DE. After those buffs are up, though, I can't really tell you other than "pray you take them out before they get you." Dealing with those groups requires a mindset that says "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
I have not dealt with Rularuu for a good long while. Can't really say. The others' advice seems sound in that regard.
Frequent boards reader, once-in-a-blue moon poster.
DE crystals - Kill it fast before they kill you. If it was enough of a problem, I'd make a targeting macro as Doomguide suggests.
Nemesis vengeance- Kill everything but the lieutenants first, bring the lieutenants down, and AoE them to death.
Eyeballs - Avoid the Shadow Shard. I mean really. But if you MUST go there, avoid eyeballs. Wait, you're in the Shadow Shard fighting eyeballs? What's WRONG with you??? *sigh* Kill them fast I guess?
Arachnos - Kill tarantula mistresses fast. If necessary, create a targeting macro.
When all else fails, skittles. Taste the rainbow. Or "You do what we do, run. You run your *** off."
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
"every situation requires your patented approach of shoot first, shoot later, shoot some more and then when everybody's dead try to ask a question or two." - President Grant, Wild Wild West, or thereabouts.
Kill 'em all, kill 'em fast. Accuracy only counts if you give 'em the chance to shoot at ya.
I was hoping a "You just have to you this -grossly-expensive-IO-that-does-the-work-for-you-" answer. But thanks for the replies, I will try to play smarter.
About Nemesis leuts, if the leuts cast vengeance so I should kill them 1st and not last? Or its some kind of special vengeance that triggers on death?
Kill 'em all, kill 'em fast. Accuracy only counts if you give 'em the chance to shoot at ya. |
The hit-code is unfair for defense sets. Resistance debuffs increase damage done to a target by the percentage of the debuff, so resistance sets don't have to worry about taking much more damage than they already are taking. Defense debuffs had the potential to make you take more than double the damage on the first application and then start taking 3, 4, and 5 times more damage than you originally took. Defense debuff resistance helped reduce that issue, but getting close to 100% DDR is only possible with certain builds. To-hit buffs on the enemy end up being a direct counter to defense. Instead of multiplying their hit chance by the percentage, it effectively lowers your defense by the value of their buff. A change to that system is needed in order to make the game fair for both resistance and defensive sets. |
I mean I dont think there is a balance issue here. Now many the balance problem comes from the fact that while its doable to cap def anyone through IOs, it doesnt seem to be an option to raise decent resist on a Def cased character.
I was hoping a "You just have to you this -grossly-expensive-IO-that-does-the-work-for-you-" answer. But thanks for the replies, I will try to play smarter.
About Nemesis leuts, if the leuts cast vengeance so I should kill them 1st and not last? Or its some kind of special vengeance that triggers on death? |
There's no mechanical solution for dealing with enemies that specifically counter Defense. It's intended to be that way. Keeps you from doing the "faceroll" on your keyboard that a lot of us here on the forums say can get you through the vast majority of the content (I vehemently disagree but that's another story for another day )
Wanna play a Peacebringer? Don't believe the hype. Check out my guide and get the real truth:
PEACEBRINGERS SUCK!!! (Now fully up to date for i21+ )
About Nemesis leuts, if the leuts cast vengeance so I should kill them 1st and not last? Or its some kind of special vengeance that triggers on death?
|
(Personally I don't think Nemesis themselves are that bad in that regard, but I have some nightmarish stories to tell about Nemesis+Malta or Nemesis+Rikti missions. Vengeance stacking + Comm Officer portals. Just imagine that for a second.)
I dont know what build you play but as DM/SD I dont see this working at all facing +3/x6 missions. DE bosses at 95% chances to hit on my caped def just crushes me down faster than I can annimate 2 attacks.
|
http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Devouring_Earth#Guardian
It is very preventable because, IIRC, pet summoning for most critters is interruptible. Either way, much like the eyeballs, gun for them first. Possibly pop oranges depending on how things go. It has nothing to do with having a build that completely negates this, it is purely a matter of tactics and handling trouble before it happens.
As Sun Tzu said, "Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories." (Speaking of, I never knew Arachnos had to-hit buffs. Good to know, and that probably explains the trouble I've had with them.)
Frequent boards reader, once-in-a-blue moon poster.
About Nemesis leuts, if the leuts cast vengeance so I should kill them 1st and not last? Or its some kind of special vengeance that triggers on death?
|
I dont know what build you play but as DM/SD I dont see this working at all facing +3/x6 missions. DE bosses at 95% chances to hit on my caped def just crushes me down faster than I can annimate 2 attacks. |
Actually I have having less death troubles on my SD than on my FA, even buffed. SD has tools to raise DDR, and definately gets hurt against +to hit. But on heavy -res mob groups (hello longbows) the res based defensive sets really blows. |
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
The DE Quartz pet is the one true kryptonite for a defense based character; always, ALWAYS look at a mob of DE before jumping in and if you see a big pink crystal dude target him FIRST and kill him NOW. By the way, the DE pet summon is NOT interruptable... either knock him on his butt before he aggros or be prepared to IMMEDIATELY kill the Quartz pet as it summons.
As I recall that Quartz pet gives all DE in the rather large AOE a massive (on the order of +100%) tohit buff... effectively every DE in the area will have a 95% chance to hit you through soft capped defenses. You'd need on the order of 145% defense to soft cap yourself against buffed DE. Since this isn't practical you have two choices, kill it before the DE kill you or kill the Guardian before he drops it.
COH has just been murdered by NCSoft. http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes
By the way, the DE pet summon is NOT interruptable... either knock him on his butt before he aggros or be prepared to IMMEDIATELY kill the Quartz pet as it summons.
|
Of course I also had to thank the plant dom I was teaming with for confusing the Quartz in the group of DE I was fighting right before I faceplanted. If they're confused - well, the pets don't give you the buff, but they stop granting the buff to DE, at least. So that's another solution - they're only really, really dangerous when solo. Odds are they're NOT kryptonite for another team member you have!
Frequent boards reader, once-in-a-blue moon poster.
Shield Charging spawn at start doesnt help. Just tryed, they just summon Quartz later, and unless I pop a couple of orange I'm toast in the next second the quartz hit the ground.
You'd need on the order of 145% defense to soft cap yourself against buffed DE. Since this isn't practical...
|
Some quick hacking around on my Claws/SR build gives a Claws/SR/Soul that, with Elude and Shadow Meld running, has 159% to melee, 156% to ranged, and 145% to AoE. Further work might give something that's actually decent to play.
Shield Charging spawn at start doesnt help. Just tryed, they just summon Quartz later, and unless I pop a couple of orange I'm toast in the next second the quartz hit the ground.
|
Another option if you were in a more AoE-friendly set than DM would be to save Shield Charge until they drop the emanators. Two good AoEs will usually kill an emanator, so if you let them all hit the ground, then AoE the spawn, you can clear all of them at once. You'll still need to drop the Guardians ASAP, so they don't have the pet recharge, but it might work.
Shield Charging spawn at start doesnt help. Just tryed, they just summon Quartz later, and unless I pop a couple of orange I'm toast in the next second the quartz hit the ground.
|
Of course the knockdown from Shield Charge isn't guaranteed, so if they don't get knocked down and manage to summon you're still screwed, but it works for me most of the time.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
(DEFENSE based of cours, sorry)
How do you deal with crazy accuracy buffs (Nemesis vengeance, DE's crystals)?