I soloed on the old setting of unyielding on mine, so it can be done. This was however well before I really started to play ATs that do solo well, but it is also before the more recent change for defenders in doing more damage while solo.
From a solo point only, /elec lacks a third single target attack to make a credible attack chain. This pretty much forces you into taking the pet. Not that I did in the end mind you. I might if I ever did a post i19 build. It's AoE is lacking from the stand point since one of the two isn't slotted for damage as much as a normal AoE attack. It will still lean towards taking on bigger mobs with lower levels due to the two AoEs and Fulcrum benefits more from more targets.
It will never be fast even for a defender, but you just have to figure out if even a decently built Kin/elec is worth it. I can solo on my Kin/elec, but it's been level 50 since the i5 days so I hardly play it outside of ebil marketing. If I do play it, it pretty much is 100% teaming. Is it viable on teams? It is as long as you don't buy into end drain too much. End drain has it's place, but it's small. The LGTF where you take on the four horsemen is one of the few standout situations for end game playing.
You don't say what level you are, but if it's your "main" I'm going to assume high enough level to have access to the epic pools. Have you tried using Mass Hypnosis from the psychic pool? Being able to get yourself fully fulcrum shifted and zapping the heck out of them without the initial mass-retaliation should somewhat offset the lack of major debuffs and self-buffs in kinetics.
Alsoand I really hate to bring this up as this "optional" system has pretty much become the assumed standardif you have the time and cash to invest, getting some defense through IO slotting will make a world of difference if you're just on SO enhancements currently.
And a minor nitpick...
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This is a myth. |
Originally Posted by Tourettes
(yes, I know defenders weren't made to solo).
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Scorpion Shield + IOs = smashing/lethal softcap for my builds.
Do I actually have either of my kins fully tricked out? No, but Mace Mastery for Scorpion Shield or Psychic Mastery for Mass Hypnosis are great tools to get your kin soloing rather effectively. Electric or Mu Mastery is another option due to Short Circuit + Power Sink.
As for Short Circuit, split its function (imo). Have it with some Efficiency Adapter (3 slot for Acc/End Mod/Recharge focus) and Eradication (3 slot for Damage/Recharge/Accuracy focus) which will give you some nice set bonuses and help increase your effectiveness with the power.
50s: Bla- Arch/Mental Cont- Mind/FF, Earth/Cold, Ill/Therm, Earth/Rad Dominator- Plant/Psi, Elec/Earth Corr- Fire/Storm, Arch/Sonic, Rad/Kin, Beam/Sonic, Psi/Time Stalker- Elec/SR Def- Storm/Dark, Emp/Psi, Dark/Elec, FF/Arch, TA/Ice, TA/Elec, Kin/AR, Cold/DP, Traps/Psi Scrap- Fire/Shield Tanker- Dark/Mace, Ice/Kin Brute- Claws/WP, SS/Energy, BS/Elec
Since when was kinetics NOT viable?
Characters!:
Pinny - Scrapper
Shadewing - Defender
@Pinny
electric blast isn't that amazing, probably less so for kinetics because voltaic sentinel can't benefit from fulcrum shift. It's definitely viable though.
You kidding? Kin/Elec is awesome - you'll never take damage, because enemies will never have any endurance! Drain 'em to oblivion with Short Circuit, Ball Lightning, and Transference on any tougher foe, then Fulcrum Shift while you're standing in the middle of the crowd (that can't attack you!) and continue spamming lightning everywhere. Soloing, your Vigilance stacked with Fulcrum Shift will even get you plenty of damage output.
I have one of these at level mid-thirties, can you tell? 
Just to add, Transfusion also nibbles a little end from foes, so spamming
it on a boss once you've sapped him will keep him empty
Defiant EU
Quaver: Kinetics/Sonic Defender
Semiquaver: Sonic/Kinetics Corruptor
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And then reality hits. SC takes 3 seconds to animate. It takes two of them to drain a mob. Add in recharge time and there is plenty of time for you to take damage. Epics will help in draining a mob in two clicks, but you'll have to be in your 40s for that to happen. Oh, there's also the wee bit of an issue when mobs can attack with the smallest sliver of end as well.
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Originally Posted by flashrains
You kidding? Kin/Elec is awesome - you'll never take damage, because enemies will never have any endurance! Drain 'em to oblivion with Short Circuit, Ball Lightning, and Transference on any tougher foe, then Fulcrum Shift while you're standing in the middle of the crowd (that can't attack you!) and continue spamming lightning everywhere. Soloing, your Vigilance stacked with Fulcrum Shift will even get you plenty of damage output.
I have one of these at level mid-thirties, can you tell? |
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When you three-slot SC and Ball Lightning for Endmod, that sliver of endurance is all a mob has left after two clicks, and they won't be regaining it anytime soon especially if you keep spamming SC every chance you get. I mentioned my Kin/Elec (who is, by the way, one of my favorite characters - loads of fun to play) is in his mid thirties - if "reality" is going to hit me, when can I expect that? SC->Ball Lightning->Fulcrum Shift means yeah, they are going to get in a volley or two, but with the damage debuff from Fulcrum Shift I can survive it and get the HP back via Transfusion (used on whatever enemy still has endurance left, to help drain him). Hasten means I have draining powers up almost any time I need them, and FS means I can slot all my electric attacks for Endmod instead of damage. Yeah, he doesn't take out a spawn solo as quickly as some ATs might, but that's par for the course with a Defender and doesn't bother me in the slightest. Seriously - he almost never dies.|
Originally Posted by Amy_Amp
And then reality hits. SC takes 3 seconds to animate. It takes two of them to drain a mob. Add in recharge time and there is plenty of time for you to take damage. Epics will help in draining a mob in two clicks, but you'll have to be in your 40s for that to happen. Oh, there's also the wee bit of an issue when mobs can attack with the smallest sliver of end as well.
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Yes, SC has a three-second animation. This can be mitigated by taking Stealth to get yourself into the middle of the spawn before firing it, or if you're crazy like me, Teleporting in and firing it right away - and Ball Lightning doesn't take nearly as long. Seriously. It works.
Two tips for this build: Skip Voltaic Sentinel, and carry a lot of Break Frees.
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Yes, I can. Kin/Electric defenders can do amazing things, just like most characters in city of heroes can. Kin/electric is amazing at single target draining, thanks to Transference's giant numbers and electric's -recovery, but it falls short in area end drain. Ball lightning's end drain isn't very much, I'd suggest slotting it for damage instead. Short circuit alone is not an effective means of end drain because of its 20 second recharge time and three second animation. If you can survive long enough to drain enemies with it, then your team was going to win anyway.|
Originally Posted by flashrains
I have one of these at level mid-thirties, can you tell?
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Kin/electrics crowning jewel is the thunderous blast/transference combo. Thunderous blast can fully drain even level enemies on its own, has a chance for extra end drain to help with higher level enemies, and halts recovery for a full 20 seconds. Transference allows you to quickly recover from the end crash, and if you take a power boost type effect from soul mastery or power mastery, the power becomes ridiculous. But with a 360 second recharge, this is more of an added bonus than something your character can rely on.
You have far more time to solo than I'm willing to spend if you slot up on end mods for both AoEs. Even if they have a sliver of end after SC and BL, they are attacking until one of those powers recharges. End drain on a team is damn near a joke outside of specific situations. You run in to try and do end drain and then a controller comes in and mezzes them in one click. If you like it in the 30s then great. I don't mean to rain down on anybody's fun. Again, on the LGTF draining the end on the Famine EB is a huge boost due to it's end drain being a major pain.
Like I said before, mine hit 50 back in i5. I've done everything with it outside of the alpha slot stuff. I'm rather comfortable in what it can and can't do. The build had it's place, but I just find /elec incredibly lacking in today's game. Case in point, I find end game teams move fast enough for end drain to not really matter and that doesn't factor in controllers. If you slot up the attacks for end drain then you are playing more like a controller, and to me an Elec/kin controller is many more times fun in part due to the sheer speed of the build, Jolting Chain alone is just a joy to use, and Elec control was built from the ground up so it doesn't carry the identity issue of trying to do control and damage, but not really being good in either due to it being a blast set that Elec blast has.
If you like it, awesome. Knock that build out and have fun. My Kin/elec is my name sake, the one name people in game know me as, and my first 50 so I will always cherish it on some level. I don't even dare look to see the number of hours I have played the build. I played it long enough to have a "Wait a minute..." moment, and after that I started to figure out I liked other builds better.
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Not when SC stops them from gaining endurance back. Just now I was fighting some Paragon protectors, and watching them stand there doing nothing (except tossing the occasional Brawl at me) after I SC/BL/Transferenced them. The only attacks they're able to get off before I SC again are too weak to kill me - and what else would I slot my AOEs for if not endurance mod (and accuracy and recharge)? Slotting for damage is redundant when you cap yourself using Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift.|
Originally Posted by Amy_Amp
You have far more time to solo than I'm willing to spend if you slot up on end mods for both AoEs. Even if they have a sliver of end after SC and BL, they are attacking until one of those powers recharges.
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If you don't like that build, fine, go play something else - but saying it's not "viable" is foolish.
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No one said this.
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Originally Posted by flashrains
saying it's not "viable" is foolish.
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This is pretty much the shining example of "Why Frankenslotting is good sometimes". If I recall, you can get around 20% acc, 95% end reduction, 80% damage and 95% recharge on Short Circuit. You can presumably do a similar thing to Ball Lightning to get 95% damage and 80% end reduction. | You have far more time to solo than I'm willing to spend if you slot up on end mods for both AoEs. |
Yes, you have to live the 10 seconds to doublestack the Short Circuit, or hope they use a lot of big-end attacks early. Or you can use Power Build Up to boost your end drain even farther [admittedly, that's not up every fight.]
My experience [FF/Elec] may not be that useful, but that's what I remember working the few times I soloed.
Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.
So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.
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Let me repeat this until it sinks in. I have soloed on the old unyielding. I know what it's like to have a mob unable to attack due to /elec. I know what it's like to completely drain a boss and stand there fighting it and I'm talking even +4/5 ones. Hell, I even basically soloed an EB with it unable to do much of anything to me and what little that did come through I covered it with Transfusion. I even flat out impressed an SG mate as they watched me do this. I have drained AVs. Not a lot, but a number of them. In all that you have posted about what a Kin/elec can do I already know. Think about how long you have played that build. I've played it for twice as long. At least.|
Originally Posted by flashrains
Not when SC stops them from gaining endurance back. Just now I was fighting some Paragon protectors, and watching them stand there doing nothing (except tossing the occasional Brawl at me) after I SC/BL/Transferenced them. The only attacks they're able to get off before I SC again are too weak to kill me - and what else would I slot my AOEs for if not endurance mod (and accuracy and recharge)? Slotting for damage is redundant when you cap yourself using Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift.
If you don't like that build, fine, go play something else - but saying it's not "viable" is foolish. |
As already pointed out, I never said it wasn't viable. I even point out where in the LGTF I think Kin/elec is rather useful. I just find Elec blast lacking compared to other blast sets, or even certain /kin builds on a controller. Case in point, for general play teams will benefit much more from having a Kin/sonic versus Kin/elec. For end game stuff, there are a number of AVs you have zero hope of ever draining. At least with /sonic you can toss in some -res.
Floating around somewhere in the Defender forum is a thread about Kin/Elecs using Invoke Panic. (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...%2C+kin%2Felec) And I can tell you that it dramatically increase your Kin's chances of survival! It won't make you god-like, but it really makes the leveling easier especially when you solo.
You can Intimidate a Lt. from range; then dive in to the crowd for IP; Transfusion to heal the alpha strike; then attack chain the mobs away.
I could handle +0/+3 readily, and with careful management, +0/+4, but after that crowds got to big for me to IP and I ate it on the alpha.
Once I hit APPs, my solo build included Mass Hypnosis and on my team build, I totally dropped the Presence pool.
I hope this helps; it certainly did for me.
Just wondering. Haven't played my main hero in a LONG time bc he's just so gimped when it comes to solo'ing. (yes, I know defenders weren't made to solo). However, some of my alts do just fine. Only this one that seems gimpy.
Tourettes.
That's not debt, those are my "fury bonus points"--Stahlkopf
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