Developing a Soldier: overwhelmed by options

So, I wanted to start my rise through the ranks. After being stunned by the awesomeness that is my new uniform, I thought "Maybe I shouldn't rush into things." I figured I'd lay out my ultimate goals and hopefully get help from my superiors. First the superficial Mumbo Jumbo:

1. Are there any naming conventions I should be aware of? Most just put Operative in front of their name. I don't want to put a title in my name if there are titles I can earn, but I also want my name to sound like it belongs. Would you recommend just a name or should I put the title in there too?

2. Is there a "standard uniform" for soldiers? Any colors I should incorporate (specific reds)? Or is it left up to the the soldier?


Moving on to what is really giving my trouble. I know I have until level 24 to figure this out, so I thought I'd get some details and a plan while I'm playing around with my Wolf, so when I get there I'll know what to do.

Here's what I had in mind. I was going to start the game as a Huntsman. Upon reaching level 24 and my advanced training I'd hoped to branch off in both directions using dual builds.

On the one hand I was going to continue my Huntsman with Crab training (ranged).
On the other hand I was going to Train to be a Bane (Melee)
Between these two builds I would have a character that can function in whatever mood I'm feeling for the current day, avoiding the need for alts because I can switch on a whim and keep the same character. No more getting bored mid-level.

Now, I have almost no idea how to build a successful character, even less of an idea how to go about soldiers. My most successful character would have to be my scrapper, and he was idiot proof to build and slot, plus I had the idiot's guide. Is there a general accepted theory to training soldiers?

1 - Name yourself whatever you want. Most of the NPCs are named "Operative" or "Huntsman" or "Arbiter" whatever, but others are working with codenames or pseudonyms anyway. I would pick something that you liked rather than conforming to the NPC conventions, which are sketchy at best.

2 - The official arachnos colors are black and red, and all of the NPC huntsmen and crab spiders follow that theme. Bane spider scouts are black and purple; commandos and executioners are black and red too thouhg.

Dual builds is a great way to go with either VEAT cause you can play both branches. Of course you do have to be a wolf spider to 24, but after that you pick your branch. Be aware that having crab powers gets you the backpack, whether or not you use them.

Also note that huntsman on the forums tends to specifically apply to a build that doesn't take any primary powers from its chosen branch, instead using all of the gun-based powers from the wolf spider selections, augmented by secondary powers from the advanced branch and pool powers only. If that's not what you mean, you may receive some inappropriate advice on your build if you keep using huntsman to describe it.

Thanks. I do want to clarify something then. Build 1: Ranged Crab Build 2: Melee Bane. I'm not opposed to taking powers from the branches to achieve my build goals. Heck, I think the crab backpacks look sweet. I can have 5 legs AND a gun, sign me up!

THAT is why I made 2 separate spider builds. I didn't want the backpack if I wasn't going to use it. I realize that some thought this silly, or a waste of time, but it was my time to waste.

Crab Spider Beorn is, as his name implies, a crab. Huntsman Beorn I misnamed but I am not going to spend the 10 bucks to call him Bane Beorn. He'll just have to deal. He's got a big nasty mace; he can cope.

My colors were sort of an homage to spiderman (deep blues and reds) for both builds. I don't know why... But honestly the Bane spends most of his time in Roman Lorica.

I liked Soldiers of Arachnos so much that I made three - one crab, one bane, and one huntsman. If you don't mind your bane having crab legs still on his back, then just using a dual build will work fine when you feel like smacking things around with a mace instead of blasting them.

As for actual builds... I don't have the time to post a full build for you, but I will say that Tactical Training: Maneuvers (and the other two, but especially Maneuvers) and Venom Grenade are absolutely amazing, and I'd be ashamed of playing a Soldier of Arachnos without them. TT:M, when slotted, gives the whole team over 15% defense to all types, for very little endurance, without you doing anything. Venom Grenade is both an excellent AoE attack from a raw damage standpoint and an excellent force multiplier for you and your team.

For Wolf Spiders, basically all the attacks are worthwhile. I'm not a fan of Wide Area Web Grenade, because the area really isn't very wide at all, but the -recharge debuff it applies is handy for bosses. Pummel has a decent stun chance, but I didn't like closing to melee range for it when all my other attacks were ranged. All three AoEs are nice, although Frag Grenade is the most skippable of the three - it has the smallest radius, a potentially annoying knockback chance, and a fairly high endurance cost.

Crabs are pretty straightforward - you have a lot of big, flashy ranged powers to blast stuff apart with, and a bunch of armor abilities to keep you alive when you do so. If you want a tankmage, Crabs are where it's at. Fortification and Serum, along with your other defense powers and pets to provide distractions, provide a level of personal survivability that few other ranged specialists can boast. Their ST DPS normally isn't as impressive as their AoE, but if you can get their pets to focus fire on a single target, it's darn impressive.

For Banes, most of the mace-based AoE is garbage. The melee attacks are beefy and satisfying though, and Crowd Control makes up for the pointless ranged AoE options. I'd still keep Venom Grenade to soften them up and provide more AoE. Mace Beam is average, but Poisonous Ray is superb when paired with Venom Grenade. Grab Surveillance and Cloaking Device when you can; Placate and Web Cocoon (sp?) are mediocre, and likely skippable. Pets are a matter of taste; they provide solid damage and control but can get in the way of a stealthy playstyle.

Veats are very flexible, there are no hard and fast rules, However, various builds tend to run along similar lines. Just be aware there are always exceptions, these things are incredibly flexible, considerably more-so than most other ATs.

Google Docs Build Archive A Google Docs/Gmail login may be required.

Veats/Huntsman: Typically Bane Armor based, Wolf Spider Attack Based Dual Ranged/Melee Builds
Veats/Crab: Typically Crab Armor based, Crab Attack Based Ranged AoE Builds.
Veats/Bane: Typically Bane Armor Based, Bane Attack Melee Builds.

Note: These are just builds I archive and keep for references for myself. It's not really intended for general consumption. That means There's no indication of the quality of any build, no discusssion of they why of any build, it's just the builds themselves, good, bad, ugly, or great.

My Crab spider took Leviathan Mastery, and, I gotta tell you, Venom Grenade followed by Bile Spray is just beautiful! And who doesn't like how cool (and how wide an arc of attack) Suppression is?

I just wanted to ask another round of questions. Right now my build is probably (by all logical standards) pretty messed up. I figured I'd try as many of the powers as I can since I HAVE to respec anyway, why put it to waste. I have forgone the Melee Powers in favor of more of the rifle powers. My attack chain consists of Single Shot, Burst, and Heavy Burst. The rest of my powers were dumped into Combat/Tactical Training (although now that I think about it I could have taken a grenade too... oh well).

I have yet to take any pool powers and have been surviving via the jetpack power and sprint, not the most efficient way, but it's not too bad. What I came here to ask about mostly pertains to being a Huntsman (for thematic reasons). I' playing around with build in SuckerPunch and I read the Huntsman guide and it brought up a few things.

First, I noticed that fitness is a power pool, but my character already has inherent fitness. Are these the same? Is the guide just outdated? If so, that means I'll have more powers slots .

Second, is Leaping a bad pool? I thought I might pick that up as a travel power and grab combat jumping and acrobatics while I was in there.

Third, Is the Leadership pool a good idea? I heard these stack with my other toggles, but are they worth it?

Last, any Patron pools worth getting? I'll try and fit one in the build if I can. I'm still not even sure all the powers I want right now are worth it.