City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Addicted to melee, what's the cure?

android33

By android33,
Posted on: 2012-01-30 23:38 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion

 

Posted

So, I've played this game off and on (mostly on lately) since launch and can never seem to stick with anything but melee.

What's the cure?

I've tried just about everything to at least the teens/early 20s, but nothing seems to hold my interest.

Bearing in mind I solo frequently, what are some suggestions?

 

Posted

I've got the same "problem", although mostly I've come to accept that it's just what I enjoy playing. I no longer try to make myself play support characters I don't like out of some vague desire for symmetry in my character roster.

I find that, at least in terms of solo ability, non-melee characters tend to bloom much later. I have recently much enjoyed a fire/time corruptor, though, even in the low levels, and things are really looking up since I got Farsight.

 

Posted

Mez protection. If squishies had it, I'd play them. And they wouldn't be called squishies.

Be well, people of CoH.

 

Posted

Plant/Storm/Psi controller. Complete endhog, but once you get some recharge into your build, you will be happily mauling everything in sight, supporting teams, or, more often, wandering off from the team because you want the toys all to yourself

Also, comes with mez protection. I have a hard time playing a non-psi-epic 'troller now, just because of that fact.

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Posted

I once was working on a chart of AT's that kinda linked them together, indicating which ones would serve as a gateway drug to others, depending on why you liked the AT.

It was badly done, and in MS paint, but then I realized I didn't need it.

Basically, there's a few reasons you might like "Melee", but pinpointing which one is going to be important in determining where best to migrate to.

Is it the defensive sturdiness? This is probably hardest to replicate, but you might find solace in the tendrilly grasp of a warshade. A defender/corruptor/controller with solid personal defense in the form of either self buffs or debuffs might also serve.

Is it offensive punchiness? A high-control Blapper (Like Sonic or Ice or Dark primary with Energy or Dark or Electric secondary) or alternately, a Dominator, might serve you well. You don't wanna go full-tissue paper because you probably do like the safety being a meleeist affords you, so don't go Fire/Fire PBAOEblapper or anything.

If your melee tends toward the more Tankery/Brutey "Control the flow of battle" type of play, a Controller or Dominator might be up your alley.

But yeah, a little soul searching to find out what and why you like melee will help you decide.

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Posted

Try dominator. Some of the assault sets are melee oriented, your primary just stops them from fighting back. Also, domination gives mez protection, which might help you ease into the lifestyle change. I like going mind/fire and blasting away point blank.

 

Posted

I'd recommend a FF Def or Traps Def/Corr. You can get decent mez protection and good defenses as a test to see if you can do ranged toons. If it doesn't work out, maybe you should stay melee.

 

Posted

Had the same problem myself and still do to some extent, the ability to solo at a good clip without worrying about face planting is pretty important to me, and that is what melee excels at. That said I have a couple of ranged toons now that I really enjoy. The first thing that made a difference for me, particularly for my first ranged at, was that I played it purely for its concept which made the slower pace in the beginning much easier to deal with. That is my Ill/Storm, and @50 with t4 incarnates and generous IOs he is insanely powerful and hugely survivable.
That said, on a lark I made a sonic blast/time corrupter and I'm finding that he is almost as sturdy as a melee character, and only a little slower to take down single enemies. But he totally makes up for it in soft control abilities, and brings a heck of a lot more to a team than any melee dps does. Last group of 8 I was in, I was always the first or second person to jump in the middle of a pack of enemies and I never had problems taking the alpha (we had no tanks or brutes on the team). So far I have been happily impressed and I'm pretty sure fire/time would be even better for dps.

 

Posted

Or for something completely different, you can try a MM

 

Posted

Weird suggestion: try an Ice Control Dominator. Ice Control gets a lot of flack for some of its issues, but on a Dominator with a good damaging secondary it's actually surprisingly hardy. Domination provides mezz protection for 90 seconds at a time. If you decide to IO (which is not very expensive for this control set) you become a serious force to be reckoned with.

Now, according to... everyone... my Ice Dominator should be much worse than my other Doms. But it isn't, in my experience, mainly because I'm running around with a 25ft slow and confuse aura enemies have to truck through if they want to hit me. The set does have some frustrating periods, Jack Frost isn't the best, and the sleep power sucks. But melee ATs wish they could get something like Arctic Air, and if you build yourself to survive the onslaught, it's not so terribly different. If other sets operate at melee or range, I call what Ice plays at "donut range," because the game is all about hanging back far enough that is reasonably safe but keeping them inside your confusion ring. It's a game of cat and mouse that some people hate but I find thrilling and a bit psychotic. Regardless, to me its completely unlike anything available in other games.

 

Posted

Fortunata.

First 24 levels suck, though, imo. For all VEAT's.

 

Posted

Not every AT or playstyle suits everyone. Do "you" and don't worry about it.

The development team and this community deserved better than this from NC Soft. Best wishes on your search.

 

Posted

I think a Plant/Earth Dominator could work well.

Plant gets Seeds of Confusion, which is up every fight, and it dramatically increases safety and soloing speed, so long as you dont over-reach.

Earth Assault is very melee oriented and stompy.

You might also try plant/ice. It also has a couple of melee/post-seedsofconfusion aoe options that work at medium and close range.

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Posted

I third or fourth fortunata. If you don't mind it being a bit easy mode, it has it all. Good aoe, good single target, solid protection, crazy control considering, and you even have the option to take a melee attack or two in case you're feeling a little homesick. Fortunata: Home of the original crashless nuke!

 

Posted

My "cure" has been anything with strong crowd control, even if it's soft control. If it is soft control, or perhaps not very long-lasting hard control, it's best combined with debuffs, to help cripple what foes can do when they get to do something. A self heal also helps a lot.

This means I gravitate towards Defenders, Corruptors, Controllers or Dominators, and on the first three towards sets like Dark Miasma, Rad Emish, or now Time Manipulation.

This cuts down (but sadly can't eliminate) mezzing, plus cuts down immensely on the amount of damage you take. I have non-softcapped squishies who can take on (and win) against things only my softcapped melees can, as long as they keep a few Break Frees handy. (At 50 I always get Clarion Destiny for my squishies unless they have some other way to get mez prot.)

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Posted

I will mirror the advice to try a Dominator. Many Dominator secondaries are melee-oriented, but they have the bonus of range as well. That way you can melee as you wish but still kill stuff that runs away or is out of reach without having to give chase or even close in.

Then there's the control aspect. You know those tsoo sorcerers everyone hates? Or CoT ghosts? Or sappers? Or those sapping mu mystics? Yeah, dominators have one of the most fulfilling way of dealing with them- confusing/stunning/holding them. As they sit helpless against you, incapable of using the powers that make them so annoying, you get to smack them down with your high damage attacks.

A word of warning, though- the mez IS your armor. You don't jump into a crowd and go to work, you lock them down then destroy them. Enemies have to be prepped wiht mez, you can't ignore them. If you do, your low hitpoints will show through. Dominators are as awesome as you make them, but there's little 'toggle on>stomp-' you have to earn your awesome with smart power usage.

Secondarily Are the VEATs, namely night widows/banes, if you want more melee-driven branches. They have so many options your head will spin. Build them as you wish, there are so many styles to these it's possible to funnel down to the style you enjoy most. On the downside, veats tend to be highly defense based so tohit buffs/-defense debuffs will make them squish. They also can be endurance heavy, so keep that in mind when slotting if you try these.

 

Posted

I've been considering making a Dominator recently, and the comments in thread have convinced me! I think I'll wait for the new Dark Sets, as they match a char concept that has been in the back of my mind for a while.

For another option for the OP, I've been playing my Peacebringer as Human only, which is a nice mix of Melee and Range. A bit annoying early on, but once you get LF, you can pump out some serious ST and AoE dmg and live through a LOT.

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Posted

Sounds like you have a fever... and the only prescription is MORE MELEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperT View Post
Sounds like you have a fever... and the only prescription is MORE MELEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dang; was going to say the same thing :P

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Posted

Factoring in that you seldom make it out of the teen's early 20's, you need something that is fun early, not that requires a lot of enhancements.

For dominator you should try Mind/ or Plant/. Both give you a lot of control early on so soloing is easy. /fire will give you the best damage

You might try a Soldier of Arachnos. You have mezz protection and decent defenses. As a crab you will become an aoe powerhouse. Or play a Bane which mixes melee and range.

 

Posted

Once upon a time, I only had melee characters just like the OP.

My cure was Controllers... especially /Kinetics Controllers, though I enjoy a good /Rad as well. I found my Dual Pistols/Rad Corruptor was pretty fun, too.

I'm really looking forward to how my Grav/Kin performs after the buffs in i22.

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Posted

Actually, I'd say the 'cure' for Melee is an Energy/Energy Blaster... or a Human-form Peacebringer, but the Blaster is likely to give you the best Break from Melee.

Expecially if you solo, being a KB-Street-Sweeper is a blast. "Look! That one is feeling Feisty! He wants to come over here and punch me in the face! So blow him away! Oops, he actually got close! Well, that's why we have the Pom-Poms of Doom! 'Ka-BOOM!' and he flies across the room. Time to keep pushing - roll them up like a Katamari!"

Basically, you're maintaining a wall-of-destruction that you keep pushing out in front of you. Better still, team up with Another Energy Blaster and just ignore the whole 'KB is Bad' issue completely!

Be Well!
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