If breath could kill...

Anyone ever play Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced? There was a lot of changes to be annoyed about vs its predecessor, FFT, but one particular change I did like is what they did with the Lancer/Dragoon class. They made it a race-specific class for Bangaas, simplified the jump attack to only needing the 1 skill to make it useable and, more importantly, they gave the class elemental breath attacks.

How does that relate to CoX? Well, that part doesn't. But I made a dragon-type Shield user a good while back when Shield defense was first made. He's a magic Stone Melee/SD Brute and lvl 37 right now but I don't really *like* him anymore. I like his backstory and all and the concept of his powers is nifty but I'm a bit bored with it.

SoooOOoo...I want to 'redo' the concept of his powers to focus on his dragon heritage of destructive breath. Really, I'd like to capture the entire feel of a 'Dragoon' for this character with polearm fighting and jump attacks, but I can get by without everything (take super jump or whatever...we obviously can't use polearms...but using Shield Charge just after a jump *kinda* feels like a jump attack). I just want the breath attacks right now.

I need help researching how best to go about doing this. Which AT/Power combos have the most/effective breath attacks? Are there any animation options that might pass as convincing breath attacks? Or a build that specializes in the best/most effective use of said type of attacks?

Having a Sonic Blaster, I'd like to scratch that off the list though. For one, the sounds put me off. I don't dislike Sonic sound fx, but they don't sound like a dragon. Besides, the cones aren't that effective (in my experience) and the visuals are *really* reserved (no flash T_T).

Any advice is welcome.

I think that the only sets that have Breath attacks are Cold and Fire and they have only 1 each.

However there have been a fair few Animation additions lately so maybe the Devs will work on a Melee Breath and Ranged Breath animations.

Not sure about a Sniper breath attack though?

There are several spitting/breath animations in Poison, although that's obviously not something you can pair with shields.

Well, I'm looking to branch out so it doesn't have to be paired with Shields and it doesn't have to be a melee.

keep leveling and grab leviathan mastery PPP. Has 2 breath attacks for brutes/tankers. Plus you can throw a shark/multiple sharks at things. Or if you switch to fire/shield you can have fire breath (primary) cold breath (leviathan pool) and posion breath (also leviathan) so you can have more variation with your deadly breath attacks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BackAlleyBrawler That...was a Herocon 09 exclusive easter egg. The powerset will not have doves associated with it. Namely because you guys would want to color tint the damn doves, or make them hawks/ravens/flying sharks/etc and that's just a headache I do...not...want...to deal with.

I can't really add much to the Sheild/Fire/Leviathan Tanker idea, but I did play FFTA (although I haven't played FFT), and it was fantastic. Can't say I was a huge fan of dragoons mechanically, though - Monk with a sideline in Gladiator seemed to do everything a Dragoon was supposed to do, only better.

Frankly, that game really lent itself to silly power combinations. Ever try a ninja/paladin hybrid? Dual-wielding Knightswords is kind of wrong, especially when it makes your normal attacks hit harder than the Paladin's ultimate attack spell. Oh, and when you counterattack any melee attack, too. Still, a lot of fun overall.

fire/shield/levi sounds perfect. You could use dragon wings and hover, too. Arctic Breath and Bile Spray from outside the spawn (both have range 60), close the distance and Fire Breath, then soar into the air for a second before BOOM, crashing back down with Shield Charge, and BAM, FSC to finish the combo!

Wow, I got excited just writing that. Sounds fun!

Sonic Blast's old animations are all from the mouth.

How you could colour them and play it as breath is up to you, but it's where the most 'mouth' attacks are at.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VoodooGirl [*]Watching out for the Spinning Disco Portal of D00M!*

The mako powers on a fire/shield brute would fit
also a fire / blaster with mako patron would too. since blasters get bile spray as well. I have a sonic/mental/mako blaster and all of those powers appear to come from the mouth.

Here's a basic build with the concept in mind. My Dark Magic Sword/Dragon-bone Shield/Breath Attack Draconian Necromancer build.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.81
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Brute
Primary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Leviathan Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Fire Sword -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(7), Dmg-I(11), RechRdx-I(43), RechRdx-I(46), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 1: Deflection -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(40), DefBuff-I(40), ResDam-I(40), ResDam-I(43), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 2: Battle Agility -- DefBuff-I(A), Empty(5), DefBuff-I(13), DefBuff-I(17), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 4: True Grit -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(7), ResDam-I(9), Heal-I(9), Heal-I(11), Heal-I(13)
Level 6: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Kick -- Acc-I(A)
Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12: Taunt -- Taunt-I(A)
Level 14: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(15), ResDam-I(17)
Level 16: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Breath of Fire -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(19), Dmg-I(19), RechRdx-I(21), RechRdx-I(25), EndRdx-I(34)
Level 20: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(21)
Level 22: Weave -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(23), DefBuff-I(23), DefBuff-I(25)
Level 24: Fly -- Flight-I(A)
Level 26: Fire Sword Circle -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(27), Dmg-I(27), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(31), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 28: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), Jump-I(29)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 32: Greater Fire Sword -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(34), EndRdx-I(34)
Level 35: Shield Charge -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(36), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(37), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 38: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A), ResDam-I(39), Heal-I(39), Heal-I(39)
Level 41: Spirit Shark -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(42), Dmg-I(42)
Level 44: Arctic Breath -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), RechRdx-I(45), RechRdx-I(46), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Bile Spray -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(48), Dmg-I(48), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(50), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 49: School of Sharks -- Acc-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A), Empty(3), Empty(3), Empty(5), Empty(42)
Level 1: Fury
Level 4: Ninja Run

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It looks like you're using a "dragoon" as term from Final Fantasy. I'm unfamiliar with that, so it looks funny to me.

In normal English, "dragoon" is a soldier who rides a horse --often (but not always) one who fights on foot like infantry, not cavalry. I think it comes from the same root term as "dragon" in Middle French, but dragoon is otherwise not connected to dragon in English usage.

Obviously game-universe-specific terms are what they are. I'm not saying it's wrong, just that it looks weird to me, like someone making a typo when trying to type dragon.

While I don't really have anything constructive to say with regards your character, I did want to chime in and say FFT was a fantastic SRPG and easily one of my favorites in the genre (up there with the original Tactics Orge and the hilarious Disgaea). On top of that, you play CoH.

You sir, have a very good taste in games.

Also, good luck with your character, it is a sound concept and seems as it would be fun.

Just an update on this character:

Name: Merrick Ebonwing
Alias: Dread Dragoon
Powers/AT: Fire/SD Brute
Server: Freedom
Status: Heroic, lvl 39, xp locked

I have to say, compared to his Stone/SD version, I'm really liking the new him. I was always in love with his costume but the addition of breathing fire really adds strongly to his theme. I'll have to post some pics of his costume if anyone's interested.

Probably chronicle his journey a bit too, but perhaps later. Things of note:
-He only had 1 fire attack until lvl 18. And he level in Praetoria too. It wasn't so bad, actually. It was all Brawl+Fire Sword+Ghost Slaying Axe with the wands thrown in (is there some sort of bug with the animations of those weapons? If I use Fire Sword then use the wand or axe, their draw is skipped and the damage comes near instant).

-After lvl 22, with only Fire Sword and Breath of Fire, I *had* to throw in Kick from fighting pool. It started getting painful without more filler attacks.

-Fire Sword Circle kills his endurance. Using mainly SOs up to lvl 30, he relied heavily on teams or the Pain Tolerance mutation passive (if he got it). The Quick Reflexes mutation was good too since it helped cut Fire Sword's recharge.

-Getting and slotting Greater Fire Sword completely changed this character. Currently, the fire attacks are all frankenslotted for max (or as best as I could do cheaply) while his other powers are using basic IOs.

-He runs Shields(sans Grant Cover), Tough, Weave, Hover, and Combat Jumping. Even with Phalanx Fighting, his defense is pretty low (barely reaching up to 30%). And running all that plus his frankenslotted attacks, he's still running out of endurance.

-Fire Breath is amazingly fun to use. I can easily hit 10 with that thing now. It's frankenslotted for some Acc, mid-range dmg, endurance redux and range. It works beautifully, really.

-I locked him into his level until he gets his last hero merit, buys a LotG for hover and then starts the path to Villains where he'll side with Mako.

-After unlocking the pool (and maybe finishing the arc), I'll settle him into Rogue status so he can team with either (and get the alignment power...yeah, it's not great but it first his concept and name).

All in all, I haven't been so drawn to playing a character since my Sonic/Ice blaster or MA/SD Scrapper. Really looking forward to expanding his abilities and hoping Arctic Breath and Bile Spray are at least decent. Build advice would be great as that's the only place I'm hurting. Who knew 3 main attacks slotted with good endurance could still steal your bar so quickly...

I'd love to see pictures. I really like seeing people's creations.

As for endurance troubles, it usually helps to add the standard IOs in health and stamina (Numina's and Miracle Unique in Health and Performance Shifter in Stamina). It's kind of a long road via alignment merits, though.

Alright then. But I'm not that original with costumes >_> I do like it on him though...

Armor resembling the Dragoon Guard of his home world.




Merrick in a more mystic wardrobe, specially prepared for spellcasting.

I guess I could have linked to the pics and just posted a thumbnail...but who cares if I break my own thread

Thanks for sharing.

While Artic Breath and Bile spray are less damaging than Fire Breath, they are of much longer range and come with a few bonuses. Artic Breath is a massive debuff. It lowers resistance, lowers defense, lowers speed, lowers recharge and has a capacity for knockdown. Bile Spray is, as far as I'm aware, the only player attack in the game that is 100% pure Toxic damage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reiella Until I see something that states to the contrary, going to assume VK is right .