Hate soloing: perma-held, prema-stunned, perma-dead

Try this:

/bind delete "inspexecname Escape$$inspexecname Emerge$$inspexecname Break Free"

Then when mezzed, press the Delete key. It will use your smallest available break free to help end the effects of the mez.

If you don't always carry breakfrees, you can use this bind too:

/bind shift+delete "inspcombine luck break free$$inspcombine sturdy break free$$inspcombine awaken break free$$inspcombine catch a breath break free$$inspcombine respite break free$$inspcombine insight break free"

That will convert small inspirations that you have 3 or more of into break frees. Then press the delete key to get out of the mez effects.

Of course, magnitude is another issue. If Ghost Widow has you held, this probably won't help - but for a run of the mill council mission, it can save you an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a single boss.

Giggles...

This is a subject I have complained much about, and every time I sought some relief I got flamed by the community.

It is sad that melee are the only ones with true unconditional protections versus the overly-used mez in the game. Ranged has conditional protections, as a player said, get them before they get you type of situation is the norm.

I have complained over the get them, before they get you! Is a problem in fact, easier typed than done. After all Bosses will shrug your first mez attempt all the time, and LTs about half the time (They have inherent unconditional MAG resistance); since you do not have uncondtional mez resistance, even the weakest mez is guaranteed to affect you. If the conditional protection, you attack with is to work: It has to either disorient, confuse or hold the "entire" group you are engaging for they are usually linked, so you can't attack one without the others doing something about it. If you apply statistical theory, you will quickly realize that the odds are horribly stacked against you getting them before they get you.

Now the use of breakfrees does provide some mitigation for the excessive use of mez, but really, should a player depend on a breakfree for every group confrontation to enter with when soloing? Does a melee depend on a luck to survive every basic group comfrontation they enter in?

Choosing groups, well there is wisdom on that, but is that really heroic? is it fun not to be able to engage 75% of the mobs types in the game? By now, are there any mob types with out mez?

What has worked for me to an extent, is to defense cap my ranged alt. It is not easy, in fact it is impossible to cap against all 3 positional attacks, its extremely difficult to cap in any 2 positionals, its reasonably possible to cap on a single possitional.

With the above in mind, I try to attain 45% ranged defense and 30% aoe defense if possible for all my alts, and get what I can for melee defense. I still get mezzed, but not nearly as often, and I can survive most engagements without guzzling breakfrees like a drug addict. Also some mez attacks are auto hit, which essentially there is nothing you can do about it.

I also make sure to have the power hover and I use it during combat, partially because it grants me a bit more defense, and prevents most opponents from "meleeing" with me, since I was not able to raise my melee defense much.

There are a few powers that offers mediocre respite against some status effects such acrobatics and combat jumping, you can also acquire anti-knock-back IOs that goes along ways in making you more survivable as well. Karma KBP on Hover and Steadfast KBP on Tough gets you a MAG 8 knock back protection, which is good enough against the great majority of the attacks you will endure, I usually buy a Blessing of the Zephyr KBP for my fly to have KBP MAG 12 between all 3 which is just as good as MAG resistance afforded to Tankers.

Another critical survival technique, when soloing is Stealth. I always buy the Celerity Stealth, and get Super Speed, between both you get fairly robust Stealth. Since Super Speed is so inaccurate to move around, I just engage it with my Celerity Stealth and hover about, fortunately hover now is reasonably fast to move about and you get the added defense bonus to boot.

If you can hover high, and not close to the ground, so if you are ambushed and stunned, you are not ground level. Thankfully, if stunned you no longer automatically descend to the ground, that has saved me lots of times from certain death.

I had tried and tried to advocate for support or ranged should have the means to have some level of unconditional mez protection across the board as it is afforded to meleea, usually I suggest a 3, the same Bosses get. Far inferior to the Scrappers' 9 or Tanker's 12. Because even if we get to mez first, the odds of the mez working on the entire group in a single application is very poor, just about all mobs have mez ability of some sort (in many mob types even minions have mez), and the mez range of the mobs is quite good (somewhere between normal ranged attacks and snipe), and devs are increasing the use of ambush tactics with many spawning right on top you (which pre-empts good playing practices).

So boost your defense, hover always, and get effective stealth, that will help a lot.


Hugs Stormy

Ps: I have nooticed in the new TFs and Tips, there are a lot of mob type re-labeling. You have what is normally a LT labeled as a minion or a boss labeled as a LT. These re-labeled mobs have the powers and abilities of their true nature, but have the hit points and resistances of their label. Thus you can see a Rikti Mentalist, usually a Boss now labeled as a LT, you are fighting in reality a Boss with less hit points, and getting the reward for defeating a LT instead.

Stormfront,

You seem to still be ignoring the fact that most support types get some way to reduce the chance of mezz effects landing in the first place, besides single-target mezz effects.

Controllers get a whole host of AoE controls and debuffs, plus pets at higher levels. Most defender primaries/corruptor secondaries have some kind of AoE mob debuff, or AoE player buff that can protect them from mezz effects. Dominators get Domination, which even at lower levels can be leveraged in ways to help prevent mez effects. The only AT that doesn't get all that many tools is the Blaster, and they get to attack while mezzed.

I remain unconvinced by your arguments that support ATs are at a huge disadvantage against mezzing enemies, and I have played several to high levels.

Stormfront,

Mez powers aren't much of a problem for many characters. Admittedly, mez powers can sometimes create a challenge, but isn't that what the game is about?

Any well played Illusion or Mind Controller can use Deceive/Confuse to take care of foes with mez, including bosses, before the fight begins. It can be stacked with NO AGGRO, so it is easy to handle bosses. Plus, Illusion Controllers can send in Phantom Army to pull all the aggro, and follow it up with Spectral Terror. Mind Controllers have aggro-free AoE control powers in Mass Hypnosis and Mass Confusion, allowing them to stack mez powers with single-target controls.

Other controllers have other options. Earth's Earthquake and Ice's Ice Slick (and Fire's Bonfire, too) can knockdown bosses with the first shot. Some controllers have an AoE power that will cause even bosses to try to avoid the area, like Arctic Air or Hot Feet. All controllers other than Mind can use their pets to draw aggro.

Part of the strategy of playing other characters is learning how to deal with Mez. Tanks, Brutes and Scrappers get mez protection because they can't avoid the mez. Other characters have to learn how to deal with it. I have high defense on very few of my non-melee characters, and part of playing them is learning how to deal with a variety of foes. Yeah, I get mezzed (and faceplant) from time to time. That's part of the fun.

Erm, I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that most AOE mezzes are mag 2, not mag 3. Any I know of (Flashfire, Stalagmites, Seeds of confusion, Wormhole, Synaptic Confuse-thingie from Elec) are all mag 3 and will affect Minions and Lieuts, assuming they hit. On a Controller they all have a 20% chance of doing an extra 1 mag as an Overpower (with perhaps the exception of Synaptic thingie), on a Domi all the ones I mention there benefit from Domination.

There's no 50/50 chance of Lieuts shrugging it off, if it lands it hits, minions don't have a 25% chance of shrugging off a Mez effect either. Lieuts and Minions do not have some form of % based mez protection (in the game Mez Resistance does exist but it serves to lower the mez duration, not nullify / avoid it and I'm not sure many enemies possess it).

The only issue really is bosses, which can indeed be a handful. An AOE mez on a controller still has a 20% chance of getting a boss from the off. After that it's a case of stacking before he kills you which can indeed be dicey (but again it depends, AOE Hold + Single Target Hold will catch him).

I farm BM alot. I farm on a fire/kin sometimes. I get stunned alot. Break frees do the trick. Even on a highly expensive build, i still get stunned sometimes. If they hit. Normally Flashfire and Cinders are up for each mob. I smoke, ff, cages, run in, cinder, FS, fireball. Up to +3s it works great. Mind you, at plus 3's im seeing alot of misses, therefore getting stunned more often. I just crafted a Kismet +Acc last night and hope it helps some today. Off to try it....