Forcefields have improved. The knockdown in repulsion bomb is mitigation along with the low mag stun. Insulation shield has endurance drain protection in it now, too. Your dark blasts work more for _you_ than your teammates since you have the lowest defense on the team without extra IO defense bonuses.
Do you team mostly? I hope so, that is the forte of Forcefielding. You should get along with life drain. I always tell myself when I am defeated, you know, maybe you should have hit Personal Forcefield sooner 
I would strongly suggest taking the leadership pool. Defenders leverage the best enhancement numbers. Maneuvers will push you close to the defense soft-cap.
For the APP, I usually suggest Psy mastery for the psy resist in mind over body that covers one of the weaker areas in the defender's protection scheme. Mass hypnosis is also more than situational if you get used to utilizing subtle opportunities.
If you want to be a nuker, dark mastery is a good choice for defenders, too. You get dark consumption to recover your end, the dark shield, and soul drain to boost damage. I would consider it, since you have blackstar which will give you a lot of mitigation during your recovery time since it has the big tohit debuff for the survivors (NOT recommended for protection from AVs though). When you nuke, your toggles do drop, but your team's little bubbles are still there, unlike a rad defender where all the debuffs disappear when the toggles drop. Nuking is of course a matter of taste.
Another frowned upon Forcefield power has regained some relevance in the upper level task forces the 50s are using to build alpha slot components -- our old 'friend' detention field, along with the sonic cage and gravity dimension shift. There are some truly hot situations where you can be appreciated for putting a target on ice. One of these situations is in the Statesman Task Force. There are four towers that do some buffing to Lord Recluse. You can't cage Lord Recluse, but you CAN quickly negate one of the towers while some damage dealers are taking out a different tower. It is suggested the bubbler helps the buffers with heals keep the Tank on Lord Recluse upright with the added defense of Dispersion Bubble. (Using force bubble to keep repairmen off a damaged tower is not as productive as you might think-- those guys have to be defeated.)
I am very happy with how my first FF/psy, first hero is performing in the upper level content. Bubblers are more appreciated by discerning teams for the amount of mitigation they bring to a team in daunting situations.
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.
Quote:
Nope. And don't worry, it never was nor will it ever be a good idea.|
Originally Posted by Pyrthas
Should I take heals (Aid Other, Life Drain/Aid Self)? I didn't before, but I'm not sure if that was (let alone still is) a good idea.
|
Quote:
| Are Assault, Tactics, and Vengeance worth it? Assault seems good. Maybe the other two can be skipped? Or are they good enough to take if I can make the room? |
Vengeance is a great power for your own survival in bad situations and it's a good place to stick random bonus-granting IOs since you don't need to slot it at all.
Quote:
| Any suggestions for an APP? I was thinking Elec for Power Sink, at least if I take all of Leadership. Would it be necessary? If not, are there better options, or is it really just up to preference? |
For PPPs, my obvious choice would be Soul Mastery for Power Boost, which provides the +special of PBU at half the recharge (though at the cost of the +damage, which I find more or less meaningless anyway).
Blue: ~Knockback Squad on Guardian~
Red: ~Undoing of Virtue on [3 guesses]~
Thanks to both of you for the feedback! I'm feeling nice and vindicated in the build that I came back to, with no heals and tactics instead of assault. I was worried I'd look dumb running around with tactics. :P
Yes, Psylenz, I'm only really building for teams (except maybe I'll take stealth if I can sneak it in, because when I do have to solo stuff, I prefer to run past all the long, tedious fights that I can).
I hadn't thought of nuking. Honestly, I've never, ever considered taking blackstar. But that might be an intersting alternative.
On PBU: Don't you still need at least one toggle to softcap people?
Edit: Also, it sounds like all 9 powers are at least situationally useful now, which is cool. Maybe I'll take them all, at least to play around a bit.
Quote:
"Yes."*|
Originally Posted by Pyrthas
On PBU: Don't you still need at least one toggle to softcap people?
|
*That "yes" is conditional on the use or non-use of shenaniganizing Synthetic/Normal Hamidon Enhancements, specifically Membranes, in PBU/PB. Either way, the ST buffs will still be granting ~38-39% defense without shenaniganization and Maneuvers at 5-6% gets people close enough for it to not matter. If they're able to be inside Dispersion at the same time? Well, then all of the above is moot.
Blue: ~Knockback Squad on Guardian~
Red: ~Undoing of Virtue on [3 guesses]~
Just wanted to follow up briefly. After playing a bit, using one respec, and playing a bit more, I think I want to go for something like this. Some particular notes:
- Two PvP IOs, but it's long-term. I should be able to get everything other than them and the 5x LotG +rech pretty soon anyway. (For the even longer term, I'll aim for slotting Gloom with Apocalypse. That would also me change up Tough and Dark Embrace, improving end usage and recovery a little.)
- Softcapped def at all three positions and psionic, capped s/l res (with Cardiac Paragon). Dispersion Bubble, Maneuvers, and individual shields will softcap party members (except for psi, of course) on their own.
- I don't think end will be much of a problem. If it's fine, I might drop the Cardiac (and capped s/l res) for Musculature.
- I'm not sure how much use Blackstar will see. I really wish I had that /Pistols nuke with no crash, but oh well. At least, as Psylenz said, Blackstar is pretty safe.
- I'm taking Oppressive Gloom only because I don't see myself needing Dark Consumption. The latter has a long recharge, and if I really need the end, I can pop an insp.
- No PBU + individual shields, I'm afraid. I liked the idea, but I liked the long duration and short recharge on Soul Drain more. (Edit: I was thinking about going Soul Mastery for Soul Drain, Dark Embrace, and Power Boost. But, again, I like that Soul Drain recharge in Dark Mastery. Also I don't want to bother with going redside. I'm busy saving up merits for my Gladiator's Armor.)
- Ninja Run for travel.
- I'm not sure what I want in the three empty power slots. Assault is a little more damage, which is always good, and I'll probably take it just for want of anything better. Vengeance might be handy sometimes, though it seems like there's usually someone on the team with it already. Repulsion Field is kind of nice when squishies are getting mobbed, but Force Bubble is a decent emergency button, too (and it's useful in other cases anyway). Recall Friend is helpful to have around. Teleport is nice for FBZ (and I've always used it, so part of me hates to give it up). Even Aid Other could help in some AV fights. I'll just pick a few soon, I guess. Right now, I'm leaning towards Assault, Recall Friend, and Teleport (for old times' sake).
- I wouldn't recommend using these enhancement slot assignments while leveling, unless you don't need to do damage. It was just easier for me to keep track of things doing them this way.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.91
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Francis: Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Dark Blast
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(3), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(3), DefBuff-I(5)
Level 1: Dark Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(46), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 2: Gloom -- Mael'Fry-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Mael'Fry-Dmg/Rchg(42), Mael'Fry-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(42), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Cloud-%Dam(43)
Level 4: Personal Force Field -- SW-ResDam/Re TP(A)
Level 6: Insulation Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(7), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(7), DefBuff-I(9)
Level 8: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(9), GftotA-Run+(11), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(11)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), GftotA-Run+(21), GftotA-Def(21)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(13), GftotA-Run+(13), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(15)
Level 14: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(15), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(17), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(17), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(19), GSFC-Build%(19)
Level 16: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(36), Posi-Dmg/Rng(37), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), Posi-Dam%(37), Cloud-%Dam(40)
Level 18: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Night Fall -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(34), Posi-Dmg/Rng(34), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), Posi-Dam%(36), Cloud-%Dam(36)
Level 22: Tough -- GA-3defTpProc(A), ImpArm-ResDam(23), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(23), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(27)
Level 24: Weave -- GftotA-Run+(A), GftotA-Def(25), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(25), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27)
Level 26: Repulsion Bomb -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(29), Posi-Dmg/Rng(29), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), Posi-Dam%(31), ExStrk-Dam%(31)
Level 28: [Empty]
Level 30: [Empty]
Level 32: Force Bubble -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: [Empty]
Level 38: Blackstar -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(39), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Sciroc-Dam%(40)
Level 41: Oppressive Gloom -- Dsrnt-I(A)
Level 44: Dark Embrace -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), ImpArm-ResDam(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(45), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Soul Drain -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(48), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(48), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50), Oblit-%Dam(50)
Level 49: Detention Field -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(33)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), Efficacy-EndMod(5), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(33), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(33)
------------
Set Bonus Totals:
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
- 5.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
- 9.125% Defense(Smashing)
- 9.125% Defense(Lethal)
- 10.69% Defense(Fire)
- 10.69% Defense(Cold)
- 11% Defense(Energy)
- 11% Defense(Negative)
- 12.88% Defense(Psionic)
- 12.25% Defense(Melee)
- 12.25% Defense(Ranged)
- 12.56% Defense(AoE)
- 1.8% Max End
- 52% Enhancement(Accuracy)
- 61.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
- 9% FlySpeed
- 53.41 HP (5.252%) HitPoints
- 9% JumpHeight
- 9% JumpSpeed
- MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
- 24% (0.401 End/sec) Recovery
- 62% (2.633 HP/sec) Regeneration
- 3% Resistance(Smashing)
- 3% Resistance(Lethal)
- 10.23% Resistance(Fire)
- 7.725% Resistance(Cold)
- 3% Resistance(Energy)
- 6.125% Resistance(Negative)
- 3% Resistance(Toxic)
- 3% Resistance(Psionic)
- 42% RunSpeed
Code:
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Edit: Current planned build posted below.
After several years away, I decided to try CoH again, but I quit before enhancements got diversified, repulsion bomb stopped sucking, all this new content was added, etc. So I'm looking for some help with a new build. I have a decent idea of what to do with most of the powers. But the pools are giving me a little trouble.
Should I take heals (Aid Other, Life Drain/Aid Self)? I didn't before, but I'm not sure if that was (let alone still is) a good idea.
Are Assault, Tactics, and Vengeance worth it? Assault seems good. Maybe the other two can be skipped? Or are they good enough to take if I can make the room?
Any suggestions for an APP? I was thinking Elec for Power Sink, at least if I take all of Leadership. Would it be necessary? If not, are there better options, or is it really just up to preference?
I'm not crazy about /Dark, but I don't feel like leveling again, so I'm just gonna stick with it. I guess if the APP doesn't matter much, I could go /Dark/Dark and fully embrace the overkill.