Task Forces

Hey folks, 6 year veteran, long-time forum lurker, low count poster

I'm looking to create a toon that specializes in Task Forces, however I can't figure out what AT would be best. My thoughts are as follows:

Tank - Everyone follows the tank ( except the Scrappers ) so this *could* be a good point man when running TFs.

Defender - Lead from the rear with buff/debuff and fully fleshed Leadership Pool.

I have played many ATs to 50 except Corruptor, Brute, Stalker, Dominator ( see a blueside trend? ) so I havent ruled them out, except i *really* would like to get the most out of the Lead Pool.

I am also kindve old school in that i find things move quickly and efficiently when everyone plays their proper part:

Tank - Round up Mobs
Controller - Locks Mobs Down
Defender - Anchors a LT and debuffs/buffs
Scrapper - Keys in on LTs and Bosses
Blaster - Rains AoE on the locked down Mobs


Any input would be great!

Thanks folks!

i personally have multiple ATs at 50 so i can switch as needed and just more variety

dominators are excellent control and dmg, corrs are like defenders but deal a ton more dmg, brutes are basically a combination of scrapper and tank so depending on build can fill either roll

personally the best thing i would rather take on a tf is buff/debuff- rad emission, cold domination, thermal, ect especially cold dom is very team friendly and has a lot of strong debuffs

Play a support character with strong buffs and debuffs. Perhaps Cold with the shields and later the AV crushing debuffs is a great way to start. Buffing is a lot less fiddly than what it was before with one cast hitting everything in a 30' radius of the target, but if that isn't your thing, then maybe Rad or Dark are strong choices.

Really once you get enough buffs/debuffs it doesn't matter what "damage" or "tank" you bring because everything wilts in a heartbeat. So... take the first step and be the first buff/debuff in every team you're in

Beaten to it!

If you're looking at a good TF runner, my suggestions would be...

Time Manipulation
Cold Domination
Dark Miasma

All around good buffs/debuffs and good defense for you in the long run.

A cold/ice fender can be fun to play, with it's multiple rain AoE's, buffs, and nasty debuffs. A lot of melee characters with fire armor are also a lot of fun, with a lot of investment.

Task forces usually live and die by having a decent meat shield and some kind of buff/debuff types. Everyone wants a good tank on their team but not many people want to play them. In my experience, TFs seem to form up with lots of Blasters and melee types who are going to want all the help they can get from more support-oriented toons.

The first thing I thought when I read this post was a Plant/Cold corrupter. They get the signature power from their primary at level 8, in time to be fully slotted for a Posi run, and they bring a good mix of buffs and debuffs to the table at all levels. On down side is that they spend a lot of time just spamming their AoE immob and ST hold at low levels; there just isn't much else for them to choose from. Things get better as they mature, but they're very team friendly and useful at any level at all.

If you want to know what the best TF teams run, it's debuffs. That's it. Usually a couple brutes come along to look pretty. 90% of the heavy lifting is done by corruptors. It's not that other things aren't welcome, it's just that a backbone of corrs is what keeps things running smoothly. Smoothly and rapidly.

Specifically, you probably should consider fire/ or sonic/ and, well, pretty much any secondary will be fine.

Advanced tactics include rolling a debuffing fender or controller. You can get even fancier than that by bringing an AT I haven't named yet but you might get some funny looks.

Personally...Doms will give you what you need in general.

Mind/Psi/Fire Perma Dom (EASY TO ACHIEVE) does it all if you want to play something offensive and defensive at the same time. Sure your main debuff will be Drain Psyche, but if you needed to choose one, it's a good one.

Add in melt armor from the Epic Power Pools and you are looking at pretty much a swiss army knife.

But I would agree with Brand that Cold, and Dark Miasma are excellent for TFS, although truthfully I found Time to be underwhelming in general. I know it's solid, but I find that it's busy and requires to much stacking of it's own powers, where as Cold and Dark just work brilliantly on their own.

Well....if you want to specialize with task forces...you need to make sure you actualy do the task forces first...and have access to the information about them so that you can guide and help the other team memebers as you need to...this includes if you are not the leader.

Becasue people can speculate all day with a specific archtype...but people who have done alot of task forces and do them alot....already know there is no specific magic archtype thats the best...anyone trying to tell you there is...doesnt do task forces much.

Like for example the idea of the defender or controller.....yep works well until you do a Keys trial or maybe the giant spider oroboros task force....or maybe the fall of the 5th column task force..those fromt he ambushes and damage that constaly hits you can make you feel like you just are not doing much.

The point i am trying to say is....the best character for any task force is one that has the needed skills and powers to survive and support their team....and i dont mean by standing back and healing.

The best team support is being able to teleport them...to get to places very quickly...and to be able to rez or to give someone an awaken if they need it.

The best way to survive and be a task force player is being able to survive when you need to and give knowledge and guidance when needed...and also be able to sit back and have others do those exact same things.(ie be prepared...use your inspirations you get more...and be willing to give them out to the rest of the team)

Anywise thats what you need

Kinetics. Whether you choose Corr/Troller/Fender thats up to you (would personally reccomend fire/kin corr or troller, but there are many other things that also work). But Kinetics is what can make TFs go obscenely faster than they would otherwise. Keeping everyone damage capped and SB'd does wonders for you tf time at any level tf.

Lower level tfs will greatly benefit from SB as people will have much lower levels of recharge and many times not have sustainable endurance, and once you get to higher level tfs you get fulcrum shift and you can turn pretty much any team into a steam rolling machine.

Yeaaaaaah.

Let me put it this way, what's your best ITF time? 30 minutes? 25 minutes?

If you've run it with a good speed team, which is going to be mainly comprised of corrs, your best time will have been under 15 minutes. How do they do it? It's quite simple. Just imagine all of the movements you need to make to get from the start of the TF to the end of the tf, only the ones you need to make, mind, and then imagine that the parts where you fight things don't add any time at all. Doesn't that sound nice?

That's corruptor TFs.

Illusion controllers are some of the favorites for Task Forces due to Phantom Army, and Group Invisibility. When the Tanker is worried about taking the alpha, use Phantoms, and when people feel like stealthing through particular missions, use invisibility.

Radiation and Cold are two favorites to pair with it, due to debuffing and either Accelerate Metabolism or Ice Shields. Empathy is also a nice set due to Fortitude and Clear Mind/heals. Kinetics as well for Speed Boost for low level TFs when endurance is easily used up.

... I think I like controllers too much, haha.

I agree with the above posters and also put in a vote on the side of buff/debuffs. It always seems like there are more than enough damage oriented toons along with a cpl of Brute/Tankers. I have a couple of Defenders/Trollers that are my main TF toons and when I want to feel more offensive, Ill run with my Huntsman. I havent tried all the VEAT combos, but this one has great team + defense etc #s and a couple of solid debuffs along with the Epic Pool to get even more debuffy with if you want/need.

Thanks to all who responded.

I think I am going to go with a Kin/Sonic or Kin/Elec Defender as I am VERY familiar with the Kinetic set, though I have minimal experience with Sonic and Electric. I love the look of the lightning now that you can change the color and the alternate sonic animations ( i hate the screams ) can give me my "Vibro Gloves" effect.


I will take PsychicKitty's very apropos advice and become a student in order to become a better teacher. The reality is that Ive done MANY task forces, mainly the lower ones and I have good knowledge on how those run but my goal is to be flawless, though not to the point of not enjoying the run. Trust me, I've been in TFs where we knock out mission after mission with nary a word in chat. Not fun for me personally, so completing the speed record isnt overly important for me as much as minimizing downtime.

I'm pretty sure i can find good builds for a Kin/Son or Kin/Elec Defender.

Exalted will have a new Task Force Captain soon!

Thanks everyone for their input.



EDIT

I do wish there were an easier way for me to make an Arachnos toon and get them Hero side...i have about 30 levels of experience Red Side and have never played the VEATS.

Between Kin/Elec and Kin/Sonic, the latter is the one you want. Trust me. They have comparable aoe capability but sonic does huge -resistance while elec is arguably decent at endurance sapping, a skill that doesn't actually do anything for your kill speed. Sonic also has much more reliable controls than elec, and in my opinion on top of all of this it looks a lot cooler too now that you can tint it.

I agree with PleaseRecyle, definitely kin/sonic of the two, "hard" targets like AVs can bog down some TFs (Reichsman, I'm looking at you!) and sonic will debuff them much more effectively. Also strongly consider superspeed/stealth IO for full invisibility and Recall Friend, as well as the Day Job accolade which lets you rez people, those kinds of things can help teams regroup quickly and keep momentum going, as well as get through stealthable missions quickly.

Its not a bad idea, though, to also make a tank or sturdy brute on the same server for those occasions when you get a blast/support heavy team but nobody to take point going through the TF. While there are certainly people out there who are willing and able to charge into x8 spawns and do fine on their dominator/blaster/controller/etc. (one team I led had a stalker doing this), in my experience finding them on PUGs is pretty rare, and people are less used to following them. A solid, knowledgeable melee can really set a good pace through TFs, adjusting for team capabilities, and keep everyone active and engaged. You tend to find those more easily for PUG TFs then good support, though, so make the support character first.

+1 more for the Kin/Sonic.. almost to the point where I kinda want to make one now haha

MT

Agreed, Kin/Sonic is a solid choice.