What Patron should my villainous FF/Rad choose?
I would go for Black Scorpion mace mastery to stack defense on top of dispersion bubble, perhaps maneuvers, for more personal safety.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010
You don't have to use Patron Power Pools. It would be a good idea to unlock them before you switch back to hero.
Without seeing your build it is hard to make a reccomendation.
Pick a patron/epic with a resist shield. Together with tough you'll have over 60% resist to S/L, couple that with your defenses you will have a pretty survivable character.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.90
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Science Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Medicine
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Cyto(31), LkGmblr-Def(33)
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), ShldBrk-%Dam(5), LdyGrey-%Dam(5), Apoc-Dam%(7)
Level 2: X-Ray Beam -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(9), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dev'n-Hold%(11)
Level 4: Irradiate -- Achilles-ResDeb%(A), Erad-Dmg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(37), Erad-%Dam(46), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48)
Level 6: Insulation Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Cyto(27), LkGmblr-Def(27)
Level 8: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
Level 10: Kick -- ExStrk-Dmg/KB(A), ExStrk-Acc/KB(33), ExStrk-Dam%(45)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(13), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(13), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(15), RedFtn-Def(15), RedFtn-EndRdx(21)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
Level 16: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(17), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Aegis-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Aegis-ResDam(34)
Level 18: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(19), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(21), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(23), RedFtn-Def(25), RedFtn-EndRdx(25)
Level 20: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 22: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(23), HO:Enzym(50)
Level 24: Stimulant -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 26: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 28: Cosmic Burst -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(29), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Dev'n-Hold%(50)
Level 30: Aid Self -- IntRdx-I(A), IntRdx-I(34), Mrcl-Heal/EndRdx(34), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(36), Mrcl-Heal(36)
Level 32: Personal Force Field -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 35: Detention Field -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(50)
Level 38: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(39), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(39), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(39), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(40), GSFC-Build%(40)
Level 41: Soul Drain -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(42), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(42), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), Sciroc-Dam%(43)
Level 44: Dark Embrace -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(45), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(45), Aegis-ResDam(46), Aegis-Psi/Status(46)
Level 47: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(43)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(37), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(37), P'Shift-End%(40)
The above build is softcapped to ALL but S/L and melee, +60% s/l resist, powerboost + aid self and PFF means you are going to be hard to kill.
My main is a 50 Force field/radiation blast defender. Her powers were chosen for roleplaying purposes. While my team build is perfectly fine at supporting a team, I decided to go villain and pick up a patron power pool for my solo build. (I'm going to explain it later as possession by a space parasite...)
I like soloing, I do okay on the lowest difficulty settings, but it's extremely frustrating to try and solo elite bosses, such as many Architect stories have. So that is my aim when looking at the PPPs. My usual m.o. is to either Snipe + Nemesis Staff or drop a Epic power Hold and/or lock someone up in a Detention Field, then Cosmic Blast (with the disorient effect) et cetera. (I have all the Vet powers) My aoe powers are rarely used because even with the solo damage bonus + Buff Damage Pet + Assault and most of their extreme short range, it takes too long to take mobs down. |
1) Which Patron powers will be the best suited to your needs
2) How to address you ability to fight EBs
I think these are seperate issues and you need to identify WHY you cannot take down EBs first.
Before talking about which Ancillary/Patron pools to go after.
One of the best tools for dealing with Elite Bosses is an Immobilize power. Looking at all the pools choices (not just villain ppp) your choices are Leviathan, Mace and Electric. The patron choices have a base 20 second cooldown making them MUCH more difficult to leverage on a single hard target. Electric Mastery wins hands down with Electric Fence and is THE reason my main was able to solo Honoree in the Alpha unlock mission.
Your second way of dealing with EBs will be more single target damage. Sadly, nearly all of the epic pools will do little to assist you here, but there are some powers that can add to your damage in nearly every pool. You would have to judge for yourself their effectiveness, since (to me) they have been deliberatly adjusted (long recharge) or chosen (long animations) to not be dropped easily into an attack chain.
Finally, one of my favorite power combinations can be yours thru Dark Mastery; Oppressive Gloom + Any Stun power. This little gem of a power works well with radiation blast, although with your primary being FF, you may not like the constant HP drain.
Since we have not seen your build and cannot give you specific advice about what you already have chosen, my gut tells me that you don't necessarily have to even dip into the patron pools in order to fix your concerns. I chose to unlock them with my empath specifically for one power (Scorpion Shield) and found that it did help me for the most part. However, losing resistance and powersink hurt me more than it helped. Each of the Patron pools has some good things to offer, but in the case of defenders, I really feel that our existing Ancillary powers seem better suited in most cases.
BIOSPARK :: DARKTHORN :: SKYGUARD :: WILDMAGE
HEATSINK :: FASTHAND :: POWERCELL :: RUNESTAFF
You don't have to use Patron Power Pools. It would be a good idea to unlock them before you switch back to hero.
Without seeing your build it is hard to make a reccomendation. |
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Main: Level 50 Technology Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Leadership
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Personal Force Field -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(23)
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Acc(A)
Level 2: X-Ray Beam -- Dmg(A), Dmg(7), Dmg(7), Acc(9)
Level 4: Irradiate -- Acc(A), DefDeb(17), DefDeb(17), EndRdx(23)
Level 6: Hover -- Flight(A), DefBuff(11), EndRdx(11)
Level 8: Detention Field -- Acc(A), RechRdx(9)
Level 10: Boxing -- Acc(A)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- DefBuff(A), EndRdx(13), EndRdx(13), EndRdx(37), DefBuff(43), DefBuff(43)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight(A), Flight(15), EndRdx(15)
Level 16: Proton Volley -- Acc(A), Dmg(36), Dmg(37), Dmg(37)
Level 18: Tough -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(19), ResDam(19), ResDam(40), ResDam(40), EndRdx(50)
Level 20: Weave -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(21), DefBuff(21), DefBuff(39), DefBuff(40), EndRdx(48)
Level 22: Aid Other -- IntRdx(A)
Level 24: Aid Self -- Heal(A), IntRdx(25), IntRdx(25), IntRdx(27), Heal(27)
Level 26: Repulsion Bomb -- EndRdx(A), Dsrnt(29), Acc(34)
Level 28: Cosmic Burst -- Dmg(A), Dmg(29), Dmg(31), Acc(31), Dsrnt(31), Dsrnt(33)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(34), EndRdx(46)
Level 32: Maneuvers -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(33), EndRdx(33), DefBuff(34), DefBuff(42), DefBuff(43)
Level 35: Tactics -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(36), EndRdx(36), ToHit(50)
Level 38: Atomic Blast -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39)
Level 41: [Empty] -- Empty(A)
Level 44: [Empty] -- Empty(A)
Level 47: [Empty] -- Empty(A)
Level 49: [Empty] -- Empty(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(5)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(3), EndMod(3)
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010
Pick a patron/epic with a resist shield. Together with tough you'll have over 60% resist to S/L, couple that with your defenses you will have a pretty survivable character.
The above build is softcapped to ALL but S/L and melee, +60% s/l resist, powerboost + aid self and PFF means you are going to be hard to kill. |
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010
What you are looking for seems to be two things.
1) Which Patron powers will be the best suited to your needs 2) How to address you ability to fight EBs I think these are seperate issues and you need to identify WHY you cannot take down EBs first. Before talking about which Ancillary/Patron pools to go after. One of the best tools for dealing with Elite Bosses is an Immobilize power. Looking at all the pools choices (not just villain ppp) your choices are Leviathan, Mace and Electric. The patron choices have a base 20 second cooldown making them MUCH more difficult to leverage on a single hard target. Electric Mastery wins hands down with Electric Fence and is THE reason my main was able to solo Honoree in the Alpha unlock mission. Your second way of dealing with EBs will be more single target damage. Sadly, nearly all of the epic pools will do little to assist you here, but there are some powers that can add to your damage in nearly every pool. You would have to judge for yourself their effectiveness, since (to me) they have been deliberatly adjusted (long recharge) or chosen (long animations) to not be dropped easily into an attack chain. Finally, one of my favorite power combinations can be yours thru Dark Mastery; Oppressive Gloom + Any Stun power. This little gem of a power works well with radiation blast, although with your primary being FF, you may not like the constant HP drain. Since we have not seen your build and cannot give you specific advice about what you already have chosen, my gut tells me that you don't necessarily have to even dip into the patron pools in order to fix your concerns. I chose to unlock them with my empath specifically for one power (Scorpion Shield) and found that it did help me for the most part. However, losing resistance and powersink hurt me more than it helped. Each of the Patron pools has some good things to offer, but in the case of defenders, I really feel that our existing Ancillary powers seem better suited in most cases. |
I finally found what computer I'd hidden the Mids program and Test updater on, so I had a chance to look at this more analytically. (Currently in the process of making copies of myself onto the test server so I can try out things.)
Oppressive Gloom seems to have low accuracy, making it comparable to World of Confusion, which is what I use on my team build. Useful for keeping people off, but it would be impossible to use my interruptible Heal Other and Heal Self with.
One of the standouts seems to be Power Mastery. While stacking Holds is one tactic for Elite Bosses, if the Force of Nature lasts long enough, it might be a way of handling them.
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010
All really good points. :[
I finally found what computer I'd hidden the Mids program and Test updater on, so I had a chance to look at this more analytically. (Currently in the process of making copies of myself onto the test server so I can try out things.) Oppressive Gloom seems to have low accuracy, making it comparable to World of Confusion, which is what I use on my team build. Useful for keeping people off, but it would be impossible to use my interruptible Heal Other and Heal Self with. One of the standouts seems to be Power Mastery. While stacking Holds is one tactic for Elite Bosses, if the Force of Nature lasts long enough, it might be a way of handling them. |
I see two big concerns for your build with regards to going after hard targets.
a) Your attack chain, once the fight is on in ernest seems to be X-ray + Cosmic. These are both serviceable attacks, but it seems that you could use more single target attacks to chip away at something like an EB.
b) Your endurance recovery/usage ratio is really low. I assume you dont run tough, but even just running Manauvers, Dispersion and Weave is gonna leave you out of endurance on longer fights. I would consider looking into IO sets and attacking your recovery by getting some +recovery from set bonuses.
Power Mastery is a good set. Conserve power is definitely something that would help you in the EB fights. Force of Nature OTH, is a terrible power for defenders for two reasons. First of all, it does not offer any kind of status protection, so you don't gain anything but a little resistance. Secondly, because of your low damage, it can wear off before the fight is finished, and that is death for certain. Total focus might help your damage out, but it would really shine as a 1-2 combo with Cosmic Burst. Finally PBU is a pretty fun power. There are alot of fun ways to use this one.
Some other build advice would be to consider adding some damage into other powers, or even adding some more damage powers. Irradiate, Electron Haze and Neutron Bomb can all be used successfully to give you alot of AoE potential. Before trying for that though, I would really, really try and add some recovery to avoid running out of endurance.
Here is a simple adjustment to your build that adds three 4-piece thunderstrike sets and improves your single target damage, your AoE damage and your endurance usage with only minor loss to defense. Also, I personally love Force Bolt. It is a great damage mitigator, expecially against hard targets that want to come up and smash your face. It makes me smile to push them into a corner and blast them while they try and stand up continually.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 48 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Medicine
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13)
Level 2: X-Ray Beam -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7)
Level 4: Force Bolt -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(9), DefBuff-I(9)
Level 8: Hover -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 10: Irradiate -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(13), Dmg-I(15), Dmg-I(15), EndRdx-I(39)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(19), DefBuff-I(37)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 16: Maneuvers -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(34)
Level 18: Aid Other -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(19), IntRdx-I(21)
Level 20: Aid Self -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(21), IntRdx-I(23)
Level 22: Electron Haze -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(23), Dmg-I(25), Dmg-I(25), EndRdx-I(27)
Level 24: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(27), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 26: Repulsion Bomb -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(29), Dmg-I(31), Dmg-I(31), EndRdx-I(39)
Level 28: Cosmic Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(33), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39)
Level 30: Deflection Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(34), DefBuff-I(34)
Level 32: Insulation Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(36), DefBuff-I(36)
Level 35: Proton Volley -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(37), Dmg-I(37)
Level 38: Resuscitate -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(3)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(3), EndMod-I(5)
BIOSPARK :: DARKTHORN :: SKYGUARD :: WILDMAGE
HEATSINK :: FASTHAND :: POWERCELL :: RUNESTAFF
a) Your attack chain, once the fight is on in ernest seems to be X-ray + Cosmic. These are both serviceable attacks, but it seems that you could use more single target attacks to chip away at something like an EB. |
Gonna look at the rest more closely tomorrow, but I hope Thunderstrikes are cheaper than all Nemu_'s picks. D: The cheap ones I already have, everything else is running for 100 millions each on the auction right now.
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010
Final report:
All epic power pools were tested against Winter Lady, most against Snaptooth. I ran Maneuvers + Tactics + Assault + Tough + Weave + Dispersion Bubble + epic armor every time against Snaptooth, adding Hover against Winter Lady.
All the villain patron power pools could handle both bosses. Leviathan was worst, then Mu, as far as inspiration usage and taking damage goes. Soul Mastery was adequate and I tested a Widow-less build incorporating both build up powers to see how it would differ--performed about the same. Hover + blast tactics were used with all these, since none of them offered important close up powers.
None of the hero epic power pools could handle Winter Lady close up, using the toe-to-toe powers they provide. Power mastery offered the best powers for hover + blast tactics, but wasn't much different in performance. Dark mastery ALMOST did it, layering the aoe disorient with Cosmic Burst and Repulsion Bomb, but she was just too tough, shaking it off and smacking me like a *****. :P
Dark Mastery was the best against Snaptooth. So much layered disorient I could play Rope-a-dope.
Mace Mastery was the only one that took out Winter Lady with a minimum of fuss and the only one where the pet survived to the end.
Thanks for the help, everyone, I will be incorporating your advice into my set building!
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010
My main is a 50 Force field/radiation blast defender. Her powers were chosen for roleplaying purposes. While my team build is perfectly fine at supporting a team, I decided to go villain and pick up a patron power pool for my solo build. (I'm going to explain it later as possession by a space parasite...)
I like soloing, I do okay on the lowest difficulty settings, but it's extremely frustrating to try and solo elite bosses, such as many Architect stories have.
So that is my aim when looking at the PPPs.
My usual m.o. is to either Snipe + Nemesis Staff or drop a Epic power Hold and/or lock someone up in a Detention Field, then Cosmic Blast (with the disorient effect) et cetera. (I have all the Vet powers)
My aoe powers are rarely used because even with the solo damage bonus + Buff Damage Pet + Assault and most of their extreme short range, it takes too long to take mobs down.
My pet peeve is people who refuse to acknowledge it when I tell them my character has unlimited power. If I rp attack them they are of course disintegrated beyond the ability of any hospital or magic to restore. Yet despite this they refuse to delete their characters and still keep playing them as if nothing happened. ~Mandu, 07-16-2010