This may surprise you...

... but I don't even know where to begin when attempting to ST DPS a GM or a AV on my Warshade. I don't know how to play simply because I'm so used to the thought process "find bodies, find bodies, find bodies" and some of these big boss battles don't even have adds. I get so lost since I'm only fighting one big mob and I can't figure out what to do, so most of the time I simply do my measely siphons (mire and eclipse) with one stack granted from that one mob (which is hardly a buff), go nova and blast it repeatably until my mind is numb from boredom.

Is there something I'm missing? I'd love to know that I'm doing something wrong against these AVs/GMs because I feel like my damage output is pitiful when I'm in these situations.

I'll be honest. I don't expect my shade to ever solo an AV unless there is a constant stream of food. Or with Lore.

For that kind of thing, I just get my battleship. I mean my Bots/Traps.

I refer you to the following...

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=277488

As far as some points of advice...

1. Figure out your higest DPS attack chain for your build and use that. You may wish to put together a build just for AV/GM encounters, the again, you may not.

2. Team with others as they will enhance your stats via your inherent as well as their buffs/debuffs.

3. Try to keep your EEs out. They supply a nice bit of damage and can make all the difference...

4. Employ smart tactics as you refine your skills.

5. If you want to get the job done as quickly as possible use whatever means you have at your disposal (e.g. inspirations, temps, Lore Pets). You may not get as much street cred, heck, you may not get any street cred, but there will be a dead AV/GM at your feet in no time.

Hope these things help...

Oh, and it was nice rolling with you, psy and micro last night.

Nova form can put out reasonable single target DPS for a Warshade - iirc enough to beat an AV's regen if you slot right, but you are unlikely to have the survivability.

You 'could' respec for capped ranged defence, +rech and +dam but you would be sacrificing the AoE capabilities to do so.

I never felt my Warshade wasn't contributing on AV's though, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

use lots of dual inspirations :P honestly keeping at damage cap for 5 minute makes a difference but I guess you don't wanna hear this kind of tactic. Another thing I could suggest is bring AV GM to mobs and don't kill mobs closer to AV/GM.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

Using all this information, I altered my Triform build a bit to mimic a human-only build (attack wise), yet kept the same awesomeness that is Triforming. I had to make slight sacrifices (recovery loss, around 5% recharge time bonus loss), but I can say I have a viable attack chain in human form now as opposed to my very low ebon eye, shadow bolt, and gravity well chain. It now goes as followed;

Gravity Well > Shadow Blast > Ebon Eye > Shadow Blast > Ebon Eye > Repeat.

All the while I buffed up Orbiting Death with a lot of procs and damage/accuracy/endurance slots to help with the costliness of it.

Here's the build I put together if anyone is curious;

http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/downl...1E7F0042EFEBDE

Again, thanks for all the feedback

Edit: I'd also like to add that I've not precisely gained the ability to solo Av's/Gm's yet, but through my respec I've managed to gain respectable ST DPS that I'm very happy with. I've decided to leave the solo'ing AV/GM stuff to the Specialists

Nova is your lowest single Target dps form, especially if you're using nova bolt. (If you must, the single Target chain for nova should be Blast>Emanation>Blast>Detonation.)

Human offers the strongest single Target and should easily be able to take out an AV. Use a chain of Gwell>SBlast>Edrain>Sblast combined with orbiting death. If you find your triform build has trouble with survival or endurance doing this, you can either go with dwarf form or make another build for this purpose. You do not have to go all human to do this (I always keep nova for AoE and others use dwarf for a set mule).

Yeah what Microcosm said, using Nova for ST isn't a very good idea. Either Well>Blast>Drain>Blast or Well>Eye>Blast>Eye are good ST chains to use, I've used both but I prefer the Essence Drain one. A good amount of defense is nice to build for so that you can focus on attacking your target rather than killing adds for Stygian Circle. Either set your mission to x8 so you're surrounded by buff food, pulling the AV from group to group (or pulling groups to you with Provoke) or clear adds for a while until you summon fluffies and then go for the AV once you have three. Having Barrier is very helpful for the second tactic in order to give your fluffies some extra survivability. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it or not because I haven't tried it yet, but using Burnout to increase your fluffy production might make it go faster. The downside to that would be the detriment to your endurance which could make your ST chain unsustainable.

THB you are on my ignore list and have been for a long time.

I know that Human Form offers the best ST. I haven't said otherwise have I? I know that out of the Novas attacks, Bolt has the least DPA. I haven't said otherwise have I? AVs differ. Therefore what a character can expect to beat without getting defeated can and will differ. AVs attack chains will worsen the closer you are too. So giving the survivability required to defeat an AV without being defeated can include being at a set range. That can mean lacking in Emanation. I did two attacks using the Bolt just to get that DPS just for a 5 min exercise, not as an epeen waving contest.

You realize that Warshades have one of the highest potentials for individual survivability in the game, right? Playing at range is counter intuitive on a Warshade because all of the things that make them powerful require playing in melee. A nova form will not be able to effectively down an AV without some extreme outside help. I think it's alright that you have me on ignore but it'd be better if you just stopped saying things that were unreasonable so I'd have no need to correct you every time you post something.

Hey now, can't we all get along?

And can you reiterate on "highest individual survivability in the game", THB? I'd like to know more about this

I'm sure there's a few spreadsheets laying around somewhere, but I don't think anything in the game can mirror the survivability potential of Umbral Aura aside from Dark Armor. The capped resists to everything, plus how unfairly good Stygian Circle is, plus the layered mitigation from Umbral Blast, plus all the defense that can be fit into a Warshade build makes it essentially unrivaled. The only weakness in the set is a lack of status protection and debuff resistance. The former can be covered with break frees and clarion, the latter can be covered with Ageless. No other set can reach 85% resistance to all damage, softcapped to at least 2 types and/or positions, and the ability to completely refill their health and endurance bars every ~6 seconds.

Hmm...walks away...

Grats. Not surprised as Khelds rock baby.