Originally Posted by ArcticFahx
Those are +regen. NOT HEALS.
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Best Healer autopower
Since Issue 13 went live on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 we have had the ability to have multiple builds on every character. So we have no excuse for "skipping" any powers from our Defenders secondary sets and being useful members of a team. Excuses about buffing being too time consuming are just that, excuses.
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Looking over her build, fortitude recharges in about 21-ish seconds, so its about stacked up to 6 times, and my fortitude will contribute a lot more damage then my single target attack chain will. I'll have to do more then 30% of a blaster/scrapper/brute DPS to have my buffs be more valuable then my attacks.
If something takes extra damage from psi, and my buff cycle has gaps (like i don't need to CM people, as the ITF really doesn't need it) then i'll attack, but on the LGTF where every single group has mez, or the iTrials, where 1 hold can literally be the death of any squishy, my buffs are just more valuable to me then my damage. (until Marauder hits unstoppable, then i laugh as i'm the only one doing noticeable damage)
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Eh, i don't really want to throw anymore inf into my psi/emp then i have to, so making a secondary build for her, when i feel i contribute enough already is enough for me.
Looking over her build, fortitude recharges in about 21-ish seconds, so its about stacked up to 6 times, and my fortitude will contribute a lot more damage then my single target attack chain will. I'll have to do more then 30% of a blaster/scrapper/brute DPS to have my buffs be more valuable then my attacks. If something takes extra damage from psi, and my buff cycle has gaps (like i don't need to CM people, as the ITF really doesn't need it) then i'll attack, but on the LGTF where every single group has mez, or the iTrials, where 1 hold can literally be the death of any squishy, my buffs are just more valuable to me then my damage. (until Marauder hits unstoppable, then i laugh as i'm the only one doing noticeable damage) |
Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
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Haste.
@OP: I'll skip the scolding for auto-firing heals, as that seems to have been covered in a more-than-adequate fashion. If given the choice between having an auto-fire Healing Aura or Clear Mind around, I would prefer the former as I find the latter to be generally worthless and, indeed, quite skippable altogether.
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Okay, I have an Emp/Psi, so I'm going to level with you here. You have time in your buff cycle because you don't actually need to pre-emptively CM everyone. Doing it reactively is just fine, unless your radiation emission character is getting mezzed too often and having to re-cycle their toggle debuffs. And if you are teaming with an FF or Sonic, you don't even need to CM, as the only mezzes that get through are sleeps, which can be fixed by healing.
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Emp/psi is not a damage toon, and trying to play it like one (as in, attack > buffs) is not the best option, as there is no chance at all that your attacks will be able to pump out more damage then your buffs can provide (31.25% damage buff on fort for defenders, and unless the mob is highly resistant to the damage type of your damage dealers, there is no way at all your psi attack, even the AoEs, will be dishing out 31.25% higher damage of the damage dealers.)
I get what your saying, but there is a fine line between 'leeching' and 'buffing' and when i know my mental blast isn't going to do 1/3 the damage of that blasters fire blast, there is zero reason to use my attacks, especially when that blaster can be buffed to become a damage beast, and I'm still rocking my defender damage mods.
Because a 200 HP Heal gives me 200 HP NOW. A +200% Regen gives me maybe +20HP a second which means it takes 10 seconds to get the same 200 HP.
Which can be 9 seconds after I'm dead.
My Emp Defender is /Elec so here's what I typically do when I first hit a mission door with a post-lvl 16 team:
RA the team. I have a Macro that announces 'RA is ready step up if you're tired!' Then hit both flavors of RA. I repeat as we hit spawns without the announcement unless we're about to hit the Bossfight or a really big spawn.
CM on the squishies that are NOT Blasters. Since the new Defiance lets Blasters use their first two attacks even while mezzed they can still put shots downrange while I CM the Troller who cannot. They holler 'Mezzed!" and they're next on the list.
Fort the team beginning with the Tank (pre-27) or the highest-level Blaster (lvl 27+). This is because in my experience by lvl 27 Tanks have it figured out and can survive without Fort and the Blaster's damage being buffed 30% adds more.
As we hit our first spawn I have HO targeted on the Tank just in case he forgot his toggles or something (hey...it happens). If he weathers the initial pain I look for runners to blast or Hold with Tesla Cage (I hate runners...). If everyone is wearing down evenly (almost never happens) I might hit HA once or twice to top us off. Otherwise keep an eye on the Team Window and apply buffs as they come up.
If the Tank seems to have good aggro control (or the Trollers are locking everyone down) I'll dash into the spawn and drop a Short Circuit to rob Minions of End to shoot with. My two Blasts also have the Tempest End Drain Proc so I can floor a Minion or Lt's End if I get lucky.
I don't have AB yet but that will likely go on the Tank if he seems fragile or a Blaster if not.
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Buffing is pretty much ignoring the heals (unless people take a damage spike, like nova fist, or a groups alpha) and throwing fort, RAs, ABs around like candy.
Which would you rather have? A emp that keeps buffs up all the time, keeps everyone above 80% hp (usually closer to 100%, so the one shot code kicks in and saves their life, 99.9% hits means you can be 1 shotted, especially with nova fist, or other high burst attacks) but rarely attacks, or an emp that attacks as much as the blasters but forgets to buff sometimes, letting fort drop, not hitting RAs very often, and really not paying much attention to the health bars?
Auto-power an attack.
Don't auto-follow. Use your brain to buff/heal/move. Use your attacks. |
The only time i will auto-fire a power is when lag won't let me use them correctly. Like Rikti raids, when we get in the middle bowl, any PBAoE heal i have gets put on autofire.
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Again, you can play that way, but it's bottom feeder mentality that's been brought over from other games where people are under the false illusion that heals are the almighty ideal version of support in this game.
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In general, the "playstyle" described in the OP can be replicated reliably by any dual-boxer's second box...when it's unattended. That should put into perspective the value it's bringing to a team.
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Oh, hey, this guy.
I was on the TF with a kin so I was watching people's buff icons. Until we started complaining, the only emp buffs that ever showed up were the auras. Once asked to actually push some buttons once in a while, there was an occasional Adrenaline Boost on the warshade who was leading the team. I don't recall seeing any Clear Mind or Fortitude at any point - if they were being used, it was incredibly intermittent. I did get rezzed once, so there's that.
This stands out in my mind because there was a thugs/pain along with us who was keeping Enforced Morale multistacked on people. Good job that guy!
The only powers worth putting on auto are self buffs that you always want up: Practised Brawler, Active Defense, Hasten, Mind Link, Rage, etc. And even those aren't always good to have on auto.
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Not sure I'd put Rage or similar Build Up-style powers on auto, personally (though I know it stems off a crash in Rage's case), but if that fits your playstyle, go for it.
I was on the TF with a kin so I was watching people's buff icons. Until we started complaining, the only emp buffs that ever showed up were the auras. Once asked to actually push some buttons once in a while, there was an occasional Adrenaline Boost on the warshade who was leading the team. I don't recall seeing any Clear Mind or Fortitude at any point - if they were being used, it was incredibly intermittent. I did get rezzed once, so there's that.
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Yes there is, leeching is rocking the aura, ignoring fort, RAs, ABs, etc.
Buffing is pretty much ignoring the heals (unless people take a damage spike, like nova fist, or a groups alpha) and throwing fort, RAs, ABs around like candy. Which would you rather have? A emp that keeps buffs up all the time, keeps everyone above 80% hp (usually closer to 100%, so the one shot code kicks in and saves their life, 99.9% hits means you can be 1 shotted, especially with nova fist, or other high burst attacks) but rarely attacks, or an emp that attacks as much as the blasters but forgets to buff sometimes, letting fort drop, not hitting RAs very often, and really not paying much attention to the health bars? |
The truth of the matter is most teams do just fine without an Emp at all. We've completed thousands of missions, TF's, Trials, without any deaths. We manage to stay alive with our health dropping far lower than 80%, no buffs, and we still steamroll over all the opposition.
Of course we aren't running around on autopilot.
I want a teammate that actually participates and contributes to the team. Not some mooch that hangs back and lets everyone else do all the work. Running an Emp is not an excuse to skate on your other responsibilites.
The truth of the matter is most teams do just fine without an Emp at all. We've completed thousands of missions, TF's, Trials, without any deaths. We manage to stay alive with our health dropping far lower than 80%, no buffs, and we still steamroll over all the opposition. Of course we aren't running around on autopilot. |
I've ran plenty of times with and without an emp, and just like when i run with a FF or cold, i expect buffs first, damage second. If i wanted a damage character, i'd invite a blaster or dominator to the team. When i invite an emp (or really any buffing powerset) i expect buffs first.
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And buffing isn't participating and contributing? Keeping fortitude on 6 teammates, keeping CM on those that don't have built in mez protection, and ABing/RAing group isn't contributing?.
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But everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they're free to use any playstyle they like. However we are under no obligation to team with them.
Nothing in the game requires constant casting of buffs one after the other and prevents defenders from using their offensive powers effectively. Any player that claims that the only way they can contribute to a team is by sitting in the back and constantly casting buffs when the previous ones haven't expired yet are leeches.
But everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they're free to use any playstyle they like. However we are under no obligation to team with them. |
You are right that we each have the ability to play however we want, but the playstyle your mentioning isn't mine. I have a buff cycle, and i always wait until i see buffs flashing before renewing them (as they are about to expire) and i never refresh something that i just cast (unless its CM or a CM clone, as those don't last very long anyways) and even then i go in a cycle. Everyone that needs a CM gets 1, and if i have time, i'll go back around and tag everyone again, as by the time i'm done CM-ing an entire group of squishys, and first CM is flashing, especially when i use fortitude and AB.
My extra 50 points of damage isn't going to turn a tide, but my 25% def buff will. That's my point. I know that the best way i can contribute to the group isn't by spamming my attacks, its by making everyone else into demi gods and keeping the squishys from being squished. If i have time to use my attacks between buffing, then great, i'll use them. But if i don't, then i won't, as my buffs are far more valuable then my attacks are to the teams survival.