Discussion: The Intrepid Informer: Issue #16

Titan Weapons
by Phil "Synapse" Zeleski


Introduction

It's time for another Intrepid Informer where we talk about a new power set. Today we're going to be talking about Titan Weapons. Titan Weapons allows your hero or villain to wield a large melee weapon to pummel your foes silly with a wide array of area of effect attacks. This power set is a primary choice for Scrappers and Brutes and a secondary choice for Tankers. I'll go into great detail on how this set functions as well as dispensing some tips and tricks to help get you started. Lastly, I'll talk about possible character themes.

Titan Weapons allows your character to swing around fairly large weapons like a railroad crossing, a fusion hammer or a massive sword. Not only does this set deal heavy damage, but it is also very area of effect centric. You can even build up momentum so that your next few Titan Weapon attacks swing more quickly. In fact, that's the next bit I'd like to talk about.


Momentum

Titan Weapons introduces a new mechanic called Momentum. A Titan Weapons character gains Momentum after executing one of their Titan Weapon powers. You'll notice that your first swing (without Momentum) is quite long. Usually around 2 to 3 seconds or so. However, once you hit your foe with one of these slow attacks you'll gain Momentum. This will cause your next few Titan Weapon attacks to use different shorter animations. For the next few swings, you'll be able to rapidly deliver a ton of damage. However, once Momentum wears off your next Titan Weapon attack will use a longer animation. Momentum cannot be maintained indefinitely.

This requires a bit of practice to use efficiently. I'll talk more about efficiency below in Tips and Tricks. A bit of strategy will pay off, and you'll be able to rapidly chain several area of effect attacks off together to decimate a group of foes.


Powers

In the section below you'll find a list of powers within the Titan Weapon powerset along with their short description, long description and some of my comments regarding each power.


Titan Weapons

You wield an over-sized weapon of some sort; a gigantic sword, mace or axe or possibly even a railroad crossing sign. The weapon's sheer mass gives it great destructive power, and your immense strength and skill allow you to use it as a devastating weapon. Titan Weapons as a set, has exceptional area of effect capability, while retaining a strong single target ability. Certain powers can only be used as follow up attacks and are grayed out when first entering combat, while others allow you to build up momentum and accelerate your attack speed for a few moments.

Below is a table showing which archetype gets which powers:



NOTE: Powers with italicized names require the user to have Momentum before they can be used.


Defensive Sweep
Melee (Cone), Light DMG(Smashing), Self +DEF(Melee, Smash)



You take a defensive stance and strike at your opponents. Successfully executing this attack will cause light smashing damage to nearby foes, while giving you increased defense against their melee attacks. Damage: Light, Recharge: Fast

Designer's Comments: Defensive Sweep is a useful tool for quickly building up a measure of Melee and Smashing defense. Titan Weapons is the only power set with an area of effect attack right up front. This should give you the impression that this set is all about area of effect.


Crushing Blow
Melee, High DMG(Smashing), Foe -DEF

You swing a mighty crushing blow at your opponent dealing High Smashing damage and reducing their defense. Damage: High, Recharge: Moderate

Designer's Comments: There's no fancy gimmicks with Crushing Blow. It does what it suggests. Crushing Blow is one of the three single target attacks in the set and deals pretty significant damage. Its defense debuff can be incredibly useful to make sure your next Momentum building opener hits.


Titan Sweep
Melee (Cone), High DMG(Smashing), Foe Knockdown



You make a sweeping slash with your weapon, causing high damage and possibly knocking your opponent down. Damage: High, Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: This is your second area of effect power. It deals excellent damage and has a significant chance to knock its targets down.


Build Momentum
Self +DMG, +To Hit, +Momentum



Grants you momentum, moderately increases the amount of damage you deal for a few seconds and slightly increases your chance to hit. Build Momentum grants you Momentum for 10 seconds and it replaces any remaining Momentum you may still have. Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: Build Momentum works sort of like Build Up, except that you exchange a bit of damage for a 10 second period of Momentum. Build Momentum is great for when you need to deal significant damage very quickly.


Follow Through
Melee, Superior DMG(Smashing), Foe Minor DoT(Lethal), Knockdown, Stun, Requires Momentum



You Follow Through with a massive attack dealing Superior Smashing damage, knocking your opponent down and possibly stunning them. Additionally, Follow Through can cause the target to suffer a small amount of Lethal damage over time. NOTE: Follow Through requires Momentum in order to be activated. Damage: Superior, Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: Follow Through and Whirling Smash both require the user to have Momentum before they can be used. So, you cannot open up a combination with this power. To compensate for that slight inconvenience, this power deals a tremendous amount of damage, causes a small amount of damage over time, will knockdown your foe and has a chance to stun them as well! Follow Through is pretty effective at removing pesky enemies like bosses from the equation pretty quickly.


Confront (Scrapper)
Ranged, Foe Taunt

Challenges a foe to attack you. Useful to pull a villain off an ally who finds themselves in over their head. A To Hit check required to Taunt enemy players, but is not needed against critter targets. Recharge: Fast

Designer's Comments: This is the Scrapper taunt power. It's useful for getting enemies off of your squishier allies as well as reducing the target's range making them more likely to engage you in melee.


Taunt (Tanker/Brute)
Ranged (Targeted AoE), Foe Taunt



Taunts a foe, and some nearby foes, to attack you. Useful for pulling villains off an ally who find themselves in over their head. Taunted foes tend to ignore other Heroes and focus on you for quite a while, so use this power cautiously. An Accuracy check required to Taunt enemy players, but is not needed against critter targets. Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: This is the Tanker/Brute AoE taunt power. It's great for pulling aggro off of your allies and keeping enemies near you by reducing their range briefly.


Shatter Armor
Melee, Extreme DMG(Smashing), Foe -Def(All), -Res(All)



You batter your enemy with your mighty weapon dealing Extreme Smashing damage and reducing their resistance to damage as well as their defense to all types of attacks for a short time. Damage: Extreme, Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: Shatter Armor not only deals a punishing amount of damage, but it also reduces the target's defense and resistance. This power is equally suited for use with or without Momentum. Using it to open up a Momentum combo will result in the target suffering additional damage from reduced resistance. Using it after Momentum has been built up will result in a deadly fast attack that will make the next Momentum building attack more likely to hit.


Whirling Smash
PBAoE Melee, Moderate DMG(Smashing), Foe Minor DoT(Lethal), Knockdown, Requires Momentum



You perform a powerful Whirling Smash that deals Moderate Smashing damage, and can knock an opponent down. Additionally, Whirling Smash can cause the target to suffer a small amount of Lethal damage over time. NOTE: Whirling Smash requires Momentum in order to be activated. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: Like Follow Through, Whirling Smash requires the user to have build up Momentum to be used at all. It compensates for this drawback by having a very fast cast time and by having a good chance to knock targets down.


Arc of Destruction
Melee (Cone), Superior DMG(Smashing), Foe Knockdown



You swing your weapon in a devastating Arc of Destruction that deals Superior Smashing damage and has a good chance to knock foes down. Damage: Superior, Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: Arc of Destruction excels at decimating everything in front of you. It makes for a great Momentum opener as it'll knock your foes off of their feet allowing you to execute a few attacks with Momentum without enemies attacking you back. Also, Arc of Destruction looks especially painful if used on targets that are knocked down.


Tips and Tricks

You'll find a list of tactics below to get you started playing Titan Weapons. These tips aren't intended to be the definitive way for playing the power set, but they may help you find your own ideal way of playing your Titan Weapons character.

• Slot for Endurance!
  • Titan Weapons is an area of effect centric set, and as a result your powers cost more endurance. Although Titan Weapon attacks cost less endurance than most area of effect powers (as it has a pretty good damage to endurance ratio), it's still important to note that Momentum will allow you to rapidly spend your endurance. Slotting for Endurance can help with this quite a bit.
• Accuracy and +To Hit are your friend
  • Accuracy is especially important to Titan Weapon attacks as you won't build up Momentum if you miss. So, make sure you slot some Accuracy into your Titan Weapon attacks.
  • If you absolutely cannot afford to miss your next Momentum building opener, use Build Momentum. It grants a fairly significant boost to your chance to hit.
• Use Momentum wisely!
  • You have a brief window of opportunity once you've gained Momentum. Once you use a momentum building attack, you'll have 5 seconds to chain Titan Weapon powers together. After Momentum runs out, your next Titan Weapon will have a normal (long) animation time. So, your attack chains might look something like this:
    • Slow (Gain Momentum) --> Fast --> Fast --> Fast (Momentum fades) --> Slow
  • Your single target attacks generally deal more damage than your cone and PBAoE attacks, so if you're facing a powerful single enemy like a Boss, it's best to rapidly chain together Crushing Blow, Follow Through and Shatter Armor.
• Know your strengths
  • Titan Weapons excels at burst damage. With Build Momentum, you're going to deal a tremendous amount of damage in a hurry!
  • Large groups of foes fall before you! You have a lot of area of effect.
  • Defensive Sweep shouldn't be ignored. This power can significantly boost your survivability.
• Know your weaknesses
  • Trying to gain Momentum and missing can be painful! Use yellow inspirations, Build Momentum, and Accuracy enhancements to help prevent this.
  • That initial Momentum building swing can leave you vulnerable for a second or two allowing enemies to deal a good deal of damage to you. Using purple or orange inspirations before diving into a group of enemies can help if you're using a power set without a lot of defense or resistance.
  • Lots of area of effect powers that can be fired off in rapid succession means rapid expenditure of endurance. Slot for endurance to minimize this issue.

Looking forward to this set One of the reasons I'm still here.

I wonder if they ever changed Arc of Destruction though; there were quite a few players unhappy with the animation, and it was the only attack one couldn't use while flying, which didn't make a lot of sense (unless it was to compensate for superior damage).

It says some powers require momentum to be used, and that they are marked. I don't see any marked powers.

Do Tankers still bruise with the first power? Since it is a cone is it random, or does it hit everyone?

I rarely play melee, and I am definitely more of a Single Target player. Obviously, this set is not for me and I probably will not be buying it. That said, it looks quite well designed with an interesting mechanic, so I look forward to teaming with Titan Weapons characters and seeing the set in action.

List of powers requiring Momentum would be nice.