How different are the characters you play?

tanker and blaster are opposite ends of survivability and damage.
stalker and brute are just about opposite play styles.

How different are the characters you play?
Same AT, different sets?
Similar AT's (brute/scrapper, Blaster/Corruptor)?

I have several tankers, a scrapper, a few corruptors, doms, Crab and am now making a night widow (stealth=crit). The crab and corruptors play about the same - ranged damage. The tanker and scrapper play about the same. My biggest problem is the dom which feels like a melee so I tend to start thinking I'm a tank and faceplanting.

I'll have to see if I can stand the slower pace of the Night Widow.

I have at least one of everything, but I have about a dozen level 50 scrappers and half a dozen level 50 brutes now.

Things I do not have a 50 as of yet: MM (44), Dom (30, I think), Stalker (35), PB (42), Crab or Bane (32).

I only have one 50 of: WS, Widow, Corr, Troller. Think that's it.

Elec/EM Blaster: When nuke is up: if conserve power is up, hit it, hit nuke, pop blue, carry on, if CP isn't up, hit nuke, let some mobs kill me to get rid of nuke debuff, RotP, carry on.

DP/Devices Blaster: Turn on cloaking, apply smoke grenades liberally, plant trip mines for each spawn without triggering them, with enough time to make it back to the first mines, run back to that group, pull them into mines, run through rest of map ahead of the explosions, if done right, never need to fire any DP powers. If it is a mission with set spawn point ambushes apply trip mines liberally to those locations before triggering ambush.

I don't think there's an AT I haven't played to at least level 30. Well, except for a Widow... but I'm working on it ever so slowly.

I'm a bit more specific; I like tanking primarily and go with SS/Inv (simply because I love the concept more than anything), but have shifted to playing Claws/SR and even DP/SR to try out ranged.

However, I am useless at crowd control, and have no luck being a healer either.


S.

If I *like* a character it gets:

Invader
Born in Battle
High Pain Threshold
3-5 LoTG 7.5
Purples
Incarnates to T3.

From there, it's a matter of making distinct costumes, a nice backstory and enjoying the journey.

I play a lot of blasters.

My Ice/Ice/Cold and my Elec^3 play about the same: Fire off the Hold powers to remove the Lieutenants from play, annihilate the rest of the mob, reapply holds, then take out the held enemies.

My Energy/Energy/Force and my Fire/Fire/Flame play about the same: Just keep shooting until everything is dead. Both are hover blasters.

My Archery/Devices/Munitions plays much differently between solo and teamed. Solo, I will typically stealth a mission to the objective via Cloaking Device and Smoke Grenade. On teams (or on a kill all mission) I make liberal use of Caltrops, Smoke Grenade, and Rain of Arrows. One is a devastating AoE machine, the other is a total ghost. I love the versatility.

See signature below

Actually, I do have one of eact AT, even a PB & a WS (a current project, so she is getting some love right now).

I only have 5 level 50s, and one is a Scrapper - but 3 of the other 4 are 2 Blasters and a Dark Defender (made before blasters got DarkBlast). The fifth one is a Fire/Rad Controller.

I would estimate that the proportion of my characters that Blast to those that are almost completely Melee is about 80% blasting. And I really have to concentrate to switch to a melee mindset.

I currently play all different kinds of ATs with all different kinds of power sets. Currently, no two are alike.

Though the one I associate most with is a Stalker.

Good question, and topic

I have a LOT of character's, at least one of every AT naturally played to over 30 (and most at 50- been playing a long time and love alts). No two are exactly alike in the way I play them. If one gets too close to feeling like another one usually goes away.

A lot of their playstyle comes from the 'personality' they develop as I create and level them. For example (trying to give at least two per AT):

My Stone/Stone/Earth Tank is kinda like Ben Grimm (Yeah yeah, hold yer horses, I'm gettin' there! *Wham!!*) Doesn't have teleport but swift well slotted and a few sets to speed him up. Took it on him once and hated it. Respeced out first chance I had. My WP/Mace/Energy Tank is much more dynamic. Still figuring out how my Invul/Titan/? Tank feels.

I have an NRG/NRG/Force Blaster is a whole hearted crazy Blapper, and the closest thing I have to a 'superman' style character (he's surprisingly survivable). My Ice/Devices/Munitions Blaster on the other hand plays up to his straightforward ranged damage and control capabilities.

My namesake character is a Claws/Invul/Body Scrapper but uses stealth and speed tactics on the battlefield (kind of like a Stalker before Stalkers existed). My BS/Regen/Dark plays much more straightforward, but his personality and 'gimmicks' are in his costume(s) for me

My Elec/Elec/Psi Controller plays more like one would imagine a Tank plays. Gather aggro up behind a wall to clump them up. Lay down everything I have and keep them sapped/held/sticky and confused 'til they fall. Conversely, my Mind/Storm/Fire Controller plays more like what Controllers are expected to play like. On the other hand my Ill/Rad/Primal Kitsune is just pure chaos and crazy.

My Sonic/Sonic/Power Defender is more like a front line Scrapper that has ranged attacks, while my FF/Ice/Power is a more traditional ranged Defender type with medicine and leadership skills.

That's the traditional hero AT's at any rate. Similar approaches are taken with the traditional villan AT's (I have an MM that taunts and uses his pets to Tank things in the thick of the fight, while my other is the master hovering above the battlefield tossing debuffs and directing his army).

The tl;dr version: playstyle can vary widely between characters if you take their powersets and individual 'personalities' into account and adjust play and power choices accordingly. The way I see it, even if you have played, Invul, for example, it can have a very different feel between characters depending on the personality and the melee that goes along with it. Throw in different pool powers and one could be so distinct from the other the only way you could see the similarity in powersets is from the icons in their tray.

Hope I've helped!

I play pretty much everything. Current roster, including retired 50s: 5 defenders, 5 corruptors, 5 tanks, 4 controllers, 4 stalkers, 4 dominators, 4 brutes, 4 blasters, 3 masterminds, 3 scrappers, 2 peacebringers, 1 warshade, 1 widow, 1 crab. Yes, my signature needs updating a bit.

Hmm, where do I start?

Party Kake is a former stripper turned criminal mastermind, joker-style crazy with a frosting costume and robots named Frosting, Icing, Sprinkles, Kake Mix, Cupkakes, and Candles (the one with the flamethrower). She usually hangs out from afar while letting her minions do the dirty work so she can look good and avoid getting beat to all hell. But some of her most fun powers involve aoe debuffing and attacking groups of enemies.

Mass Drive is an interesting character, each costume of hers is supposed to be a completely different person. All of them are volunteers that chose to become a hero working for Drive tech, an organization that has them sign a "nondisclosure agreement" that prevents them from speaking or communicating at all. Thus the character is mute, and communicates outside help chat with only emotes. each time I change her costume, it's like the old volunteer was killed and replaced. Armed with titan weapons and electric armor, she has a very short combat cycle, jumping in and using all that endurance so fast that it just empties, and then it's either time to flee or finish it. She's a brute though, makes it hard to guess which is the right answer.

I have a couple dominators, one hasn't been played much lately though, the other's new.

I had a few stalkers that I enjoyed playing, the last one I played seriously was in the going rogue beta and I guess I got burned out on that pretty quick.

I play regularly except Scrappers and Stalkers ( although I have a few scrappers )

How I play the character really has to do with the personality of that character. Not all the blasters play the same even if some of the powersets are similar.

MA/SR Scrapper - Redlynne (the original, from Issue 2!) (Virtue)
KM/EA Stalker - Golden Blond (Virtue)

Ice/Ice Tanker - Shirayukihime (Virtue)

Tri-form Warshade - Ms Terry (Virtue)
Tri-form Peacebringer - Autumn Turning (Virtue)

Ninja/TA Mastermind - Ku no Ichi (Exalted, semi-retired)
Ninja/Time Mastermind - Ku no Ichi (Virtue)

Storm/Dual Pistols Defender - Sidhe Bang (Virtue)

Mind/Kin Controller - Ms Givings (Exalted, semi-retired)
Gravity/TA Controller - Topheavy Gs (Exalted, semi-retired)
Mind/Time Controller - Ms Givings (Virtue)

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

I usually play either my Fire/Kin Controller, SS/Shld Brute or StJ/WP Brutes.

I tend to play all 3 the same way-- charge in head first

... it gets me into trouble when I play other toons though >_> <_< >_>

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I don't limit myself to any one archetype. I play them all.

all over the map. I tend to prefer defenders and scrappers/brutes. one for being a great team force-multiplier, the other for being a good fun smash fest for braining down and blasting loud music. but i have a few of just about everything.

I am confused by the comments about the widows I find them to be very fun to play, so i'm a bit confused by the comments about them being slow going. I guess they are a bit squishy to start, but once they get going, and particularly on a team with their leadership buffs, they are delightfully powerful.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

You know how there's (supposedly) no two snowflakes alike? (Although I really think this has been disproven, but let's go with it...)

Well, that's about what all my characters are: different. From an overwhelmingly (for me, anyway) uberpowerful claws/WP scrapper, to a very potent Mind/Emp 'troller, to a beautiful, but evil, maiden who controls zombies, and makes them dance to Macho Man and recite Who's on First, with emotes (or used to... I gotta fix that one day, they messed it all up, silly Devs. ), to a stalker woman who wears next to nothing, to a wholly different stalker who wears a clown costume, to, my latest, a brawl only brute with will power and build up.

Different things make me happy... and that is but a short list of my fun characters.

I think just about all of my characters turn into PBAoE maniacs. Of course, not everything has it.

My recent blaster is actually a ranged blaster. Normally, they morph into blappers/PBAoE types. So on the Beam Rifle blaster I had to really re-wire my thinking to not play PBAoE.

I think the only other character who comes to mind would be my night widow who loved using cones.

I found I prefer playing my brutes like tanks so that my rage bar stays full. Rather than like a scrapper.

Corruptors seem to be the most interesting case of indecision for me. Balancing out dps + buff/debuff. Well versatility has a cost I guess.

This is where my current issue is. I feel as though I am running out of themes, ideas and plain out sit in the character creator coming up with ideas, and then after an hour, I log out.

See...I love dominators. But I only really enjoy mind domination.
I made a blaster, but the only blaster I have been able to level to 50 is with Dark Blast.

I seem to like dark powers in general, and going through my list, Psi powers as well. Seeing as almost all my mains are as following. Grav/FF/Psi Controller, Mind/Psi/Fire Dominator, Dark Blast/Mental/Elec Blaster, Empathy/Psi/Psi Defender....(See the theme)

Im rolling new things, but it seems my toons are running all into the same course.

Because of this trend I tried to break the mold by creating new things, coming up with new ideas, and well, Im having a complete block in the character creation process. It could be because I have been playing for so long that these just happen to be toons I created and let stagnate, falling in love with them at later times.

But now, after having 4 level 50's with similar or somewhat similar power options, I realized I play favorites with certain sets and certain things just do not appeal to me. I look through powers and I am at a complete loss as to what appeals to me anymore.

I bought Beam Rifle...and not once have I ever used or even tested it because I can't come up with a theme that appeals to me. Do I make a blaster? Do I make a Support toon?

Im beginning to wonder if it's powers or AT's. Either way, Im completely at a loss right now and have hit my roadblock.

Maybe I just need a bit of a break, and then return later once I have some new fresh ideas.

Actually. I have narrowed it down!!!

I do not like playing anything that gets hit? Does that make sense? I choose dark for the -to hit. I like doms and controllers to lock down things so I don't get hit...and in fact, I even have diamagnetic on each of my mains for extra -to hit!!!

I like my emp/Psi/Mind because she can heal/stun/sleep and hold...and again...does not get hit.

Wow...thats a huge eye opener and prolly the reason my scrapper is on hold, and I could never stand a tank or a brute for longer than 20 minutes of playtime at all!