Earth/cold/earth - talk about def debuff..


Deacon_NA

 

Posted

SOOOOO a hell of alot of def debuffing going on here - not that you can ever have enough - and a fair amount of slow. Not at all very dmging but hey controller. I think it would be quite fun to take a stab at an AV, it will probably take a rather long time but i bet it would be rather fun and interesting.
What does anybody think????

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.93
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Level 50 Natural Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Cold Domination
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Stone Mastery
Hero Profile:
------------
Level 1: Fossilize
(A) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Hold
(3) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Recharge
(3) Basilisk's Gaze - Recharge/Hold
(5) Basilisk's Gaze - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold

Level 1: Infrigidate
(A) Curtail Speed - Accuracy/Slow
(5) Curtail Speed - Damage/Slow
(7) Curtail Speed - Accuracy/Endurance
(7) Curtail Speed - Endurance/Recharge/Slow

Level 2: Stone Cages
(A) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize/Recharge
(9) Gravitational Anchor - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge
(9) Gravitational Anchor - Accuracy/Recharge
(11) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize/Endurance
(11) Gravitational Anchor - Chance for Hold

Level 4: Ice Shield
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 6: Quicksand
(A) Recharge Reduction IO
(13) Tempered Readiness - Endurance/Recharge/Slow
(13) Pacing of the Turtle - Endurance/Recharge/Slow

Level 8: Hasten
(A) Recharge Reduction IO
(15) Recharge Reduction IO
(15) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 10: Snow Storm
(A) HamiO:Microfilament Exposure
(17) HamiO:Microfilament Exposure

Level 12: Stalagmites
(A) Absolute Amazement - Stun
(17) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge
(19) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
(19) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge
(21) Absolute Amazement - Endurance/Stun

Level 14: Super Speed
(A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 16: Glacial Shield
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed

Level 18: Earthquake
(A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(21) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Recharge
(23) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
(23) Touch of Lady Grey - Recharge/Endurance
(25) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Endurance
(25) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage

Level 20: Arctic Fog
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(27) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
(29) Gift of the Ancients - Defense

Level 22: Boxing
(A) Kinetic Combat - Accuracy/Damage
(29) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance
(31) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Recharge
(31) Kinetic Combat - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 24: Tough
(A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%

Level 26: Volcanic Gasses
(A) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage
(31) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold/Recharge
(33) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge
(33) Unbreakable Constraint - Accuracy/Recharge
(33) Unbreakable Constraint - Endurance/Hold

Level 28: Benumb
(A) Accuracy IO
(34) Accuracy IO
(34) Recharge Reduction IO
(34) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 30: Weave
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(37) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
(37) Gift of the Ancients - Defense

Level 32: Animate Stone
(A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge
(39) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage
(39) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(39) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge

Level 35: Sleet
(A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(40) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Recharge
(40) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
(40) Touch of Lady Grey - Recharge/Endurance
(42) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Endurance
(42) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage

Level 38: Heat Loss
(A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod
(42) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
(43) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
(43) Efficacy Adaptor - Accuracy/Recharge
(43) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy
(45) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Endurance

Level 41: Fissure
(A) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage
(45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Endurance
(45) Positron's Blast - Damage/Recharge
(46) Positron's Blast - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(46) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)

Level 44: Rock Armor
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(48) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
(48) Gift of the Ancients - Defense

Level 47: Seismic Smash
(A) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage
(48) Crushing Impact - Damage/Endurance
(50) Crushing Impact - Damage/Recharge
(50) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(50) Crushing Impact - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

Level 49: Combat Jumping
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

------------
Level 1: Brawl
(A) Empty

Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Sprint
(A) Empty

Level 2: Rest
(A) Empty

Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift
(A) Empty

Level 2: Health
(A) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
(36) Miracle - +Recovery

Level 2: Hurdle
(A) Empty

Level 2: Stamina
(A) Performance Shifter - EndMod
(36) Performance Shifter - EndMod/Accuracy
(36) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End


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Posted

Defense Debuff is nice . . . but it only goes so far. Remember that there is a hard cap on ToHit . . . no matter how high your accuracy or ToHit or how low the foe's Defense may be, you can't go past a 95% chance to hit the foe . . . there is always a 5% chance to miss. Thus, excessive Defense Debuff is wasted.

You have a 25% Defense Debuff in Quicksand and 20% in most of the other Earth powers. Then Sleet has a bunch, too, even before enhancement. Enhancing an Earth controller for more Defense Debuff is generally a waste of slots.

I have several Earth controllers, and I have an Ill/Cold at 50, but I haven't tried an Earth/Cold. I think I can imagine how the combo plays, though. Earth is a ranged AoE control set. Cold is also fully effective at range. You should have plenty of Endurance Recovery with Heat Loss, but your weakness is a lack of a self-heal. Personally, I would rather go with the Ice APP than Earth since it is more ranged.

I also think that Defense for this build is probably not as badly needed as you think. It is a team build, so you should be letting the tank take the aggro. With a self-heal and "some" defense, you should be able to handle taking a little bit of damage. The build you have softcaps S/L defense, but has much lower numbers on other types of damage. I would consider dropping the Fighting Pool, and instead picking up Medicine and maybe Maneuvers. Between Aid Self and Hibernate, you should be able to heal past whatever aggro you draw. Plus, Aid Other and Maneuvers will benefit the team and not just you. Also, to make up for some lost Defense, I tried to increase your Regen while increading the Defense you give to your teammates.

I did a few other things, too. The two Resist procs in Rocky make him much more durable. A stealth IO in Super Speed gives you full invisibility, so you can lead Rocky into the fight to draw tha aggro. Plus, you can heal him with Aid Other.

I re-slotted Sleet to include a bunch of Damage procs -- as much as you use Sleet, that may be your most damaging power. I also added some damage to Fissure, along with better accuracy.

Quicksand and Snow Storm don't really need Slow enhancements. Slow only affects run speed, and there is a cap of -90%. Add the Slow in Sleet, and you are well past the cap with either Snow Storm or Quicksand. And I assume you will be using Sleet a lot, right?

Well, take a look and see what you think. Use whatever you choose and reject the rest.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.93
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Earth-Cold: Level 50 Natural Controller
Primary Power Set: Earth Control
Secondary Power Set: Cold Domination
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Fossilize -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(3), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(3), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(5), HO:Nucle(7), Dmg-I(7)
Level 1: Infrigidate -- AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(A), ShldBrk-Acc/DefDeb(5)
Level 2: Stone Cages -- GravAnch-Immob/Rchg(A), GravAnch-Acc/Immob/Rchg(9), GravAnch-Acc/Rchg(9), GravAnch-Immob/EndRdx(11), GravAnch-Hold%(11)
Level 4: Ice Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(23)
Level 6: Quicksand -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(15), RechRdx-I(15)
Level 10: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(13)
Level 12: Stalagmites -- Amaze-Stun(A), Amaze-Acc/Rchg(13), Amaze-Stun/Rchg(17), Amaze-EndRdx/Stun(17), Amaze-Acc/Stun/Rchg(19)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Zephyr-ResKB(A), Clrty-Stlth(36)
Level 16: Glacial Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(25)
Level 18: Earthquake -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(21)
Level 20: Arctic Fog -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(27), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(27), GftotA-Def(29)
Level 22: Aid Other -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(25)
Level 24: Aid Self -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(29), Numna-Heal(31)
Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- UbrkCons-Dam%(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(31), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(33), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(33), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(33)
Level 28: Benumb -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(34), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(37), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(37), GftotA-Def(37)
Level 32: Animate Stone -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(36), SvgnRt-PetResDam(36), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(39), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), ExRmnt-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(39)
Level 35: Sleet -- Achilles-ResDeb%(A), RechRdx-I(40), Posi-Dam%(40), ImpSwft-Dam%(40), ShldBrk-%Dam(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 38: Heat Loss -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(42), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(43), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(43), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(43), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(45)
Level 41: Ice Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(45), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 44: Frozen Armor -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(46), GftotA-Def/EndRdx(48), GftotA-Def(48)
Level 47: Ice Storm -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(50), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(50), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 49: Hibernate -- RechRdx-I(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Containment
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Numna-Heal(19), Numna-Heal/Rchg(23)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- P'Shift-EndMod(A), P'Shift-End%(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc(31)

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LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Madamme Mayhem View Post
SOOOOO a hell of alot of def debuffing going on here - not that you can ever have enough - and a fair amount of slow. Not at all very dmging but hey controller. I think it would be quite fun to take a stab at an AV, it will probably take a rather long time but i bet it would be rather fun and interesting.
What does anybody think????
I think you are fine going with Stone Mastery but in AV fights I probably wouldn't stay in melee. Also beware AVs that deal S/L are in the minority so don't depend on your softcapped defenses too much. Best bet is to go with Ranged DEF.

I was looking at this combo a while back but not for the purpose of becoming an AV Killer. I ended up going with Fire/Cold/Stone instead. If this combo doesn't work out for you you may want to check out an Earth/Thorny Dominator. Both Earth Control and Thorny Assault have an abundance of -DEF debuffs. Good AoE and ST too. You become a hardened target can opener with all that -DEF.

Here is my crack at your build. Fully shielded and within range of Maneuvers+Arctic Fog+Pet DEF IOs Stoney will have +35% DEF on top of his native resists. Runs fairly cool on endurance so you are not dependent on Heat Loss all the time. Feel free to modify for your personal use.

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Best of luck! It will be interesting to hear how your big game hunting goes.


 

Posted

I'll dig in a little more when I get home and have access to Mids.

I have an Earth/Cold/Earth and I consider it the best team support character I have and most of my 50s (there are many) are trollers/corrs/defenders/mms. I wouldn't nominate him for AV hunting though. I'd say he'd be a perfect complement to an AV/GM hunting duo, but the damage really is on the light side. I know Doms can use Seismic Smash for hold stacking on AVs, I don't think a controller can get there though, to hold through ptod.

Anyway, it is a fun combo and, as I mentioned above, I know a team will be better when he joins.

Off the cuff...

As mentioned above, it's an embarassment of riches for -def debuff as well as slows. They don't need to be enhanced, except for chasing set bonuses.

I 4-slotted LOTGs, I like all 3 of the bonuses and think they're more useful than just getting 2 from 2 LOTGs + 2 GotA. I'm sure you're chasing the endurance bonus but honestly, end consumption is a non-issue.

The Winter's Gift slow and -rch resist is awesome to stack with Artic Fog. You move across caltrops as if you had speed boost, no lie. That would be better for CJ than current slotting.

You are being a little stingy with the +Def for your teammates by not slotting shields. Not the biggest deal, really, since the troller numbers aren't all that high.

You don't need super speed for invis. Just a Stealth IO in Sprint along with Fog will do the job, that's how I'm slotted.

Quicksand recharges really quickly and has a long-ish animation time. Personally I put a dmg proc in it and call it a day, especially on a high recharge build.

I think you made the right call with the Earth APP. Seismic Smash can't be overestimated, I took Earth's Embrace as well. The only "problem" with Earth APP is I couldn't give enough slots to the 4 powers I took.

Like I said, more when I get home to Mids.


Global = Hedgefund (or some derivation thereof)

 

Posted

the only time i could see the massive def debuff really shine is when your dealing with enemies that have def buffs such as cimerorans or baddies with tier 9s

captain mako, positron, and citadel come to mind for "high def" situations with their tier 9s

other than that i agree with local man, i think i would prefer ice mastery over earth mastery for another DoT patch (ice storm) and the ice shield gives the same def as well as some cold resist as the earth shield


 

Posted

Does -def even make sense as a secondary effect since the introduction of IOs sets? It is so trivially easy to get huge amounts of global accuracy, and easy to get lots of accuracy on individual powers, plus toHit IO, plus tactics, etc.. I could see -def being useful when the game first came out, but after you are capped at 95% to hit it does absolutely nothing. All decent builds will be at 95% or better to-hit. All my builds have attacks with accuracy ratings of 150-240% without even trying hard. Even if I'm to-hit debuffed my accuracy will be capped at 95% for all powers in virtually every situation making -def worthless.

About the only times I can see it being worthwhile are:

1. While leveling and powers are underslotted for accuracy and global accuracy
2. Playing with very cheap, or inexperience players, or players with bad builds at lvl 50
3. As an aid against -to-hit debuffs (not useful at all when playing with other players with decent builds).
4. When attacking mobs much higher in level or with major defense buffs (again, not useful at all when playing with other players with decent builds).
5. It will allow you to slot less accuracy in individual powers or work effectively with less global accuracy (most IO sets have built-in accuracy and many have built-in global accuracy, so this is pretty unavoidable making this benefit questionable at best).

Personally, I'd just ignore the -def and enhance the other aspects of the powers. Of all the secondary effects, -def seems like the least useful one by quite a large margin.

I've never played a -def toon before so I could be missing something here. Please, feel free to enlighten me if I'm way off base.