City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Rad/sonic questions

Laevateinn

By Laevateinn,
Posted on: 2011-10-27 01:44 in Defenders

 

Posted

So I've read and read about this combo but really havent pursued it past lvl 14. However my question for a big game hunter is still there and the allure of having the defender icon near my toons name lingers as well.

So some of my questions are..
Is rad/sonic really that delicious of a combo?
Is it clearly better running this combo as a defender vs a corruptor?
What ancillary or patron pools are recommended?
What are some basic tactics to rolling over an av/gm solo?
would rad/fire be a viable contender in this category?
Is the lack of aoe overcome by the kill things fast enough aspect to override aggravation?
Also if anyone has any "holy crap I can't believe I just did that!" stories or vids they can share that would be awesome.

Thanks for any and all help

 

Posted

Rad sonic is a hard target killer.

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Is rad/sonic really that delicious of a combo?
Yes

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Is it clearly better running this combo as a defender vs a corruptor?
You won't get a clear answer on this, I'll wager, so I can only offer my opinion. Yes. Stacking the debuffs is what this combo is all about. And all of the debuffs are bigger for a def.. The primaries, and sonic blasts -res..

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What ancillary or patron pools are recommended?
Fighting, and anything else that brings defense or maneuverability. So Combat Jumping, Hover, Maneuvers. Assault is also a good choice..

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What are some basic tactics to rolling over an av/gm solo?
Basic. Debuff the crap out of them, then stay at range, via running or hover, and blast away as fast as possible with your sonic attacks, so as to stack as much -res as possible. Eat Oranges proactively, if you're def capped, and purps if not.. Also, keep BFs about if they have mezzes. Get incaranted as soon as possible to shore up your other weaknesses..

Oh, and did I mention inspirations. Use them.. And then use more..

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would rad/fire be a viable contender in this category?
My only rad/fire is actually a fire/rad corr, from before fire blast was available to defs. But, I think I'd say no. It's a awesome combo, but it's lack of stacking -res, and it's more AoE focus seems to me that it wouldn't even be close as an effective AV/Gm cracker. Granted, I've only tried the Corr version, but I can try to extrapolate from there. I pretty sure it can work, given an optimal build, and incarnate abilities, but I don't see it ever being as effective, or even close to as effective, vs AVs and GMs as rad/sonic. That said, rad/fire will be a lot better farmer, and much better vs large groups...

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Is the lack of aoe overcome by the kill things fast enough aspect to override aggravation?
No. The diminished AoE efficacy is the price you pay for superior single target efficacy.

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Also if anyone has any "holy crap I can't believe I just did that!" stories or vids they can share that would be awesome.
Holy crap, I've soloed GMs with my non-incarnated def. I didn't record it, as I don't honestly even know how to record things. And it would have been a feature length movie anyhow, so pretty boring television, so it's not like I set time records, but I always loved that Defs, whose DPS is so woeful, according to many detractors, had enough DPS to accomplish this feat, and many other ATs didn't, pre-incarnates.

 

Posted

Thanks a ton for the reply... What epic/patron power did you go with on yours?
I'm looking more and more forward to rolling this toon

 

Posted

Also is this build reliant on inspirations to function?

 

Posted

I used Power Mastery. I think almost any epic could work, however. (Except maybe Mace mastery, as I think the def can be capped without mace, and the extra resistance is helpful. I'm sure you'll find others that disagree). And yes, any build pushing it's limits will rely on inspirations. But with a strong enough build, and enough Inf invested, and a willingness to fail, you may not need inspirations.. I have always used them, but I know folks have been able to succeed without them...

I even use temps, too. And I don't regret it. I don't get the big difference between throwing out a shivan and throwing out a Lore pet. To me the difference is very abstract.

So, reliant on inspirations, no.. Do you like to succeed more often? Yes? If so, then use inspirations. You don't get bonus XP or drops for doing without inspires.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by randomhero6 View Post
Is it clearly better running this combo as a defender vs a corruptor?
Corr EF only has -22.5% res, fender gets -30%. Corr sonic blasts are only -15% res per blast, fender gets -20%. It's probably debatable who is better at soloing GMs, but when you factor in performance when teamed I would take the defender any day in this case.