What's the best defender to Solo on SOs as a Premium Player?
By
Adeon Hawkwood,
Posted on: 2012-05-30 13:57 in Defenders
Time/Sonic/Power on SO's is pretty impressive if built right...
About 40% defense to everything perma with power build up/farsight (also includes weave and hover but I am not counting either being affected by power build up)
About 65% s/l resistance with tough and temp invuln
Cone Sleep - great for soloing
Single target mag 3 stun, stackable to stun most bosses (could skip this and take temporal selection instead for more team play)
Single target mag 3 hold, stackable to hold most bosses... holds most bosses for a few seconds with 1 application if you Time Crawl them first
Panic button in Force of Nature that almost soft caps your resistance to all damage except psi
Endurance is manageable... moreso if you get the end affecting accolades
You can easily fit in stealth and travel powers
Here's an example:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.957
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Time Manipulation
Secondary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Time Crawl -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Shriek -- Acc(A), Dmg(5), Dmg(5), Dmg(7)
Level 2: Scream -- Acc(A), Dmg(7), Dmg(9), Dmg(9), EndRdx(11), RechRdx(11)
Level 4: Howl -- Acc(A), Dmg(13), Dmg(13), Dmg(15), EndRdx(15), RechRdx(17)
Level 6: Fly -- EndRdx(A)
Level 8: Distortion Field -- RechRdx(A)
Level 10: Stealth -- EndRdx(A)
Level 12: Time Stop -- Acc(A), Hold(17), Hold(23), RechRdx(25), RechRdx(25), RechRdx(27)
Level 14: Hover -- EndRdx(A)
Level 16: Shout -- Acc(A), Dmg(29), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), Range(31), Range(33)
Level 18: Farsight -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(19), RechRdx(19), RechRdx(21), RechRdx(21), RechRdx(23)
Level 20: Amplify -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(27), RechRdx(29)
Level 22: Boxing -- Acc(A)
Level 24: Tough -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(34), ResDam(34), ResDam(37)
Level 26: Slowed Response -- Acc(A), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(37)
Level 28: Siren's Song -- Acc(A), RechRdx(37), RechRdx(39)
Level 30: Temporal Mending -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(39), EndRdx(39), EndRdx(40), Heal(40), Heal(40)
Level 32: Chrono Shift -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(33), RechRdx(33)
Level 35: Power Build Up -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(36)
Level 38: Screech -- Acc(A), Dsrnt(42), Dsrnt(43), Range(43), RechRdx(43), RechRdx(46)
Level 41: Temp Invulnerability -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(42), ResDam(42), ResDam(46)
Level 44: Force of Nature -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(45), RechRdx(45), ResDam(45), ResDam(46)
Level 47: Time's Juncture -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(48), ToHitDeb(48), ToHitDeb(48)
Level 49: Weave -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(50), DefBuff(50), DefBuff(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(3), EndMod(3)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
------------
Code:
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Jem - Ill/Rad Controller Lv 50+3 Nic - Mind/Psi Dominator Lv 50+3 Lady Liberation - Invuln/SS Tanker Lv 50+1 Invicitx - Demon/Pain Mastermind Lv 50+1 Celeste - Emp/Arch Defender Lv 50+1 Nightsilver - DB/WP Scrapper Lv 34 Dusk Howl - StJ/Regen Brute Lv 32 Kyriani - Time/Energy Defender Lv 41Psifire - FF/Psi Defender Lv 50
Star Lighter - LB/LA Peacebringer Lv 30
A slightly off-ball suggestion that I found worked very well on SOs is Time/Electric. The kill speed is slower than some of the other suggestions (especially against bosses due to poor single target damage) but Electrical Blast provides very good damage mitigation which when paired with an already tough set like Time provides a very Tanky defender. I'll also add that Electrical Mastery is a very good fit for the pairing. Thunderstrike adds more damage against bosses, Shocking Bolt is a VERY strong hold and provides a bit of extra control to use alongside your Time powers and Power Sink makes Thunderous Blast into an almost standard part of your attack chain (the REALLY nice thing about TB as a nuke is that it does END drain so enemies that survive can't attack giving you time to re-toggle).
Other than that I'll mostly echo what others have said, Traps and Time are probably the easiest solo Defenders (other sets equal them in power but Traps and Time are easier to use). Fire, Sonic and Archery are probably the highest damage secondaries with AR getting an honorable mention (at least in my book, I realize it's much less popular but Blaster-level damage on Ignite boosts it up a lot for me as long as you can reliably hold or immob bosses).
Quote:
Even with the Rikti resists to energy, FF not bringing anything useful is a contributing factor. A Rad/Rad would have less trouble when dealing with the resistance by virtue of EF and even RI would make the fight easier. Neutrino Bolt can at least be slotted with Touch of Lady Grey's Negative Energy damage chance proc and Apocalypse's same proc.|
Originally Posted by Dr Harmony
Isn't that partly down to Radiation Blast? Its pure energy damage, which Rikti resist.
It has lower damage, higher recharge attacks, so you're doing less damage per attack, and probably less damage overall since the animation times aren't reduced for the tier 1 and 2 attacks. I don't disagree that Force Fields is a slow defensive set, butI think youve picked a misleading metric there. |
Of course, for debuffing and solo, a rad/sonic would be ideal, but I've noticed that people say Sonic lacks aoe attacks, and for soloing that's just fine. Wouldn't the debuffs from Radiation Blast also be worthwhile? I mean, against AVs, yeah the defense debuff will be pointless, but if it's a resistance heavy AV, doesn't their damage resistance also determine how much they resist the debuff? Honoree hitting unstoppable would suffer almost no damage resistance debuff, wouldn't he?
Global - @Proton Sentinel
Jack Devon Crab Spider VEAT; Virtue
Mordigen Earth/Storm on Liberty and Virtue
Technological Terror Bots/FF; Liberty.
50s: Zul Vakirol Thugs/Poison; Virtue. Kiyujin Katana/SR
Yes, Force Fields is definitely a contributing factor to Fulmen's experiment. I was just pointing out that it wasnt the only factor.
As for Resistance debuffs, they get resisted by damage resistance. The net effect is the same, a 20% resistance debuff means you will do 20% more damage, whatever the target's resistance.
In the case of Honoree hitting Unstoppable, if that gives him 100% resistance to energy and smashing, then the debuffs from Sonic Blast will have no effect, and subsequent attacks will still do no damage. They will however increase the damage he takes from Psi attacks.
I always feel Sonic Blast does OK for area damage.
Howl does around 80% normal AoE damage, more like 100% normal the second time you use it. Shockwave does 65%-ish, which boosts to about 80% again after Howl's debuff. And both have a very fast recharge compared to many other sets.
IF you have a corner (to keep them Shockwaved in) its not bad for chained AoE damage, but lacks the burst AoE of some other sets.
Quote:
Doesn't he have resistance to psi because of the whole part-Rikti thing going on?
|
Originally Posted by Dr Harmony
Yes, Force Fields is definitely a contributing factor to Fulmen's experiment. I was just pointing out that it wasnt the only factor.
As for Resistance debuffs, they get resisted by damage resistance. The net effect is the same, a 20% resistance debuff means you will do 20% more damage, whatever the target's resistance. In the case of Honoree hitting Unstoppable, if that gives him 100% resistance to energy and smashing, then the debuffs from Sonic Blast will have no effect, and subsequent attacks will still do no damage. They will however increase the damage he takes from Psi attacks. I always feel Sonic Blast does OK for area damage. Howl does around 80% normal AoE damage, more like 100% normal the second time you use it. Shockwave does 65%-ish, which boosts to about 80% again after Howl's debuff. And both have a very fast recharge compared to many other sets. IF you have a corner (to keep them Shockwaved in) its not bad for chained AoE damage, but lacks the burst AoE of some other sets. |
Global - @Proton Sentinel
Jack Devon Crab Spider VEAT; Virtue
Mordigen Earth/Storm on Liberty and Virtue
Technological Terror Bots/FF; Liberty.
50s: Zul Vakirol Thugs/Poison; Virtue. Kiyujin Katana/SR
The best Solo on SOs is probably Time and Traps I say traps because it gives you plenty of def, mez protection and lots of tools, Time makes better use of power boost from soul mastery solo than any other defender primary. Time and Traps are my go to for support toons
Bots/Traps/Mu
Beam/Traps
Time/Sonic
Demon/Time
Fire/Time to be replaced by Water/Time
Quote:
I love KB too, but Gale has that accuracy penalty and Hurricane is autohit and has a monster debuff.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
I've never understood people who don't mind the repel in Hurricane but despise the KB in Gale. Gale is a tool that has it's uses, the key, I think, is knowing when to use that tool.
Of course I learned the value of KB a looong time ago on my energy/energy/force blaster so I have a bias towards the usefulness of KB that not too many people share. |
My take on the OP's question is "Storm by a mile." A Stormie can floor enemy to-hit with Hurricane alone on SOs, and to paraphrase Alien, "In solo, no one complains about knocback."
Hurricane's debuff is actually better than the defense soft cap. Enemies have the same floored chance to hit you, but 'Cane's knockback has them ragdolled a significant portion of the time, during which time they cannot attack at all, so their chance to hit is zero. If you don't mind throwing things around, it's awesome.
Storm has other fun powers too, of course, including one of the game's best debuffs (Freezing Rain). But when you can literally reduce your enemies to rag dolls flopping helplessly at your feet with one power, all the other powers are just gravy.
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
----------------------------------------------------------
The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
Quote:
I'll see your Time/Sonic and raise you with a Traps/Dark/Dark.|
Originally Posted by Kyriani
Time/Sonic/Power on SO's is pretty impressive if built right...
About 40% defense to everything perma with power build up/farsight (also includes weave and hover but I am not counting either being affected by power build up) About 65% s/l resistance with tough and temp invuln Cone Sleep - great for soloing Single target mag 3 stun, stackable to stun most bosses (could skip this and take temporal selection instead for more team play) Single target mag 3 hold, stackable to hold most bosses... holds most bosses for a few seconds with 1 application if you Time Crawl them first Panic button in Force of Nature that almost soft caps your resistance to all damage except psi Endurance is manageable... moreso if you get the end affecting accolades You can easily fit in stealth and travel powers |
With it you have good Defense (31.5%) and decent resist numbers to go with Mez protection. You can stack lots of -tohit on top of this to give soft capped defense numbers.
3 sources of stun (each mag 2 but stackable)
2 nukes (1 of em crashless) a mini nuke (trip mine) and caltrops (good damage over time and great mag 50 afraid).
A cone immob for all your stunned mobs.
A meh hold that gives a fantastic -1000% regen for 30 seconds.
A good regen power (aoe) and a self heal.
A good source of -Def and -resist in Acid Mortar.
Buffable damage source that lasts for 30 seconds a crack.
Basically, there are many Defender sets that can do very well solo and I think this is a prime example.
An SO version might look something like this...
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.957
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Magic Defender
Primary Power Set: Traps
Secondary Power Set: Dark Blast
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Caltrops -- Dmg(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(3)
Level 1: Dark Blast -- Acc(A), Dmg(40), Dmg(40), Dmg(42), RechRdx(50), EndRdx(50)
Level 2: Triage Beacon -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(5), RechRdx(11)
Level 4: Gloom -- Acc(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(40), EndRdx(46), RechRdx(46)
Level 6: Acid Mortar -- Acc(A), DefDeb(7), RechRdx(7)
Level 8: Force Field Generator -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(9), DefBuff(9)
Level 10: Dark Pit -- Acc(A), Acc(11), Dsrnt(15), Dsrnt(17)
Level 12: Poison Trap -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(13), RechRdx(13), Hold(15)
Level 14: Boxing -- Acc(A)
Level 16: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Acc(A), Acc(17), Immob(21), Range(27), Range(33)
Level 18: Seeker Drones -- Acc(A), Dsrnt(19), Dsrnt(19), EndRdx(21)
Level 20: Night Fall -- Acc(A), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), EndRdx(33)
Level 22: Tough -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(23), ResDam(23), ResDam(27)
Level 24: Weave -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(25), DefBuff(25), EndRdx(42)
Level 26: Trip Mine -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(34), Dmg(34)
Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(29), RechRdx(29)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff(A)
Level 32: Time Bomb -- Acc(A), Dmg(34), Dmg(36), Dmg(36)
Level 35: Life Drain -- Acc(A), Dmg(36), Dmg(37), Heal(37), Heal(37), EndRdx(39)
Level 38: Blackstar -- Dmg(A), Dmg(43), Dmg(43), Acc(45)
Level 41: Dark Consumption -- Acc(A)
Level 44: Dark Embrace -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(45), ResDam(45), ResDam(46)
Level 47: Soul Drain -- Acc(A), RechRdx(48), RechRdx(48), RechRdx(48)
Level 49: Oppressive Gloom -- Acc(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(50)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(42), EndMod(43)
------------
Code:
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Quote:
I'm playing a Storm/Ice defender mostly solo right now. While Hurricane and Freezing Rain are definitely powerful, the endurance usage on this character is huge. I can solo +0/x1 pretty safely in my mid-20's but I don't think I can increase the difficulty or number of mobs without a constant supply of blue candy to keep my attacks going.
|
Originally Posted by Sailboat
I love KB too, but Gale has that accuracy penalty and Hurricane is autohit and has a monster debuff.
My take on the OP's question is "Storm by a mile." A Stormie can floor enemy to-hit with Hurricane alone on SOs, and to paraphrase Alien, "In solo, no one complains about knocback." Hurricane's debuff is actually better than the defense soft cap. Enemies have the same floored chance to hit you, but 'Cane's knockback has them ragdolled a significant portion of the time, during which time they cannot attack at all, so their chance to hit is zero. If you don't mind throwing things around, it's awesome. Storm has other fun powers too, of course, including one of the game's best debuffs (Freezing Rain). But when you can literally reduce your enemies to rag dolls flopping helplessly at your feet with one power, all the other powers are just gravy. |
What about a time/AR? With the heals and holds that time gives, and the late damage Ar has, wouldn't this be something to consider or am I reaching?
WHO DAT!? WHO DER!?
I've never understood people who don't mind the repel in Hurricane but despise the KB in Gale. Gale is a tool that has it's uses, the key, I think, is knowing when to use that tool.
Of course I learned the value of KB a looong time ago on my energy/energy/force blaster so I have a bias towards the usefulness of KB that not too many people share.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson