So with Crashless Nukes and Insta Snipes...

...how is a defender supposed to do any defending with so many fun pew pew options?

I'm looking hard at my build wondering how to fit two powers and the slots for them. Not easy, I say.

I will do it, because, hey, BOOM! and all. But not easy.

Easy enough for me, I'll be switching out X-Ray Eyes and Neutron Bomb for Proton Volley and Atomic Blast. Might lose a little recharge, but insta-snipe and crashless nuke? Yes, please.

Yeah I was going to respec out of Atomic Blast to get the Rad Blast snipe...but with the nuke changes....now I have to figure it out...

We've been spoiled by secondaries with 3-4 useful powers that let us take all the primary and pool powers we want. Now we actually have to make decisions.

Well in the case of my Time/Elec he already has Thunderous Blast (SC + TB + Small Blue + Power Sink = I have a full end bar and you don't) so it's mostly a case of fitting in Zapp. My current plan is to fit it in by dropping Time Crawl and stealing the slots from Thunderstrike (which I'll probably switch to Electric Fence since that is semi-useful unslotted). In a perfect world I'd drop Thunderstrike entirely but that would require me to switch to Mu Mastery but that is the wrong color and has a MUCH weaker hold (still if they bring in PPP customization I may bite the bullet, make the switch and pick up Tesla Cage for a hold).

Of course this is all subject to change when they reveal whatever new surprises they have in store for Leadership (I LOVE Leadership and have it on pretty much all my characters).

"Insta Snipes"? Bwah? What did I miss?

In the upcoming issue, snipes will have their interruptible period removed if you're over 22% tohit buffing.

Basically, if you're on a team with some tactics being thrown around, then you have access to a 1 second animating attack that does crazy damage.

I recently did a respec to drop wail, I'm going to have to revert that. Getting that one power back in shouldn't be too big a problem. Figuring out how to slot it however is going to be painful.

I'm really interested in seeing where the pool powers go with the new 5ths. As someone else stated, leadership will play a big factor. Finding spots for 2 powers could be rough. (Maybe I'll just drop assault.)

For my secondary build, I'm really wondering what the last concealment power will be as well.

I heard about the snipes but the crashless nukes are confirmed now?

- Fixed it D:

Wow, just saw the notes on the changes. All I have to say is thanks to Solar_Lunata for getting me to keep my nuke in the first place. What was awesome is going to be omgwtfbbq! Curious if you want the notes heres one post on it: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=292856

My Time/Psy defender is going to love I24, assuming the changes make it through unhindered (a fairly precarious assumption).

If so, I'll have a ST attack chain of Will Dom, TK Blast, and Psy Lance. All. The. Time.

The crashless nuke is also kind of a big deal, because right now my AoE is limited to lolPsy-tornado and Psy Scream. I have Psychic Wail, but it's collecting dust because using it requires too much situational preparedness.

"There's villainy ... and then there's supervillainy. The difference is performance."
-Doc_Reverend

With 12.5% base on defender tactics, and 6% from kismet on top, Time isn't the only primary invited to this party.

Thermal and Empathy might even get invites to the party over on the blaster board. Start thinking about your slotting on Fortitude, though.

My Green Machine Empaths are looking foward to a whole new level of meaning in the term "Rolling Nukes". My nukes are already commonly able to fire off close to or at the floor (72 seconds) while buffed by AB. The idea of 3 or 4 nukes going off EVERY spawn due to lowered recharge times (even if at slightly lowered base damage ... but still backed by 8 Assaults and 2+ Forts each) is just ... mind boggling.

On the other hand got to find room now on most of them for the snipe.

Doomguide

I'm personally not loving the crahsless nukes changes just yet. After trying it I may (and reserve the right to) change my mind, but I like the extra damage.

Even lower starting damage means an even lower cap than what defs already had. And I sorta liked that I could nuke with the crashing variety and have most everything gone. Now, that's not gonna be the case. True, I'll not be defenseless for even a moment after, and that might make up for it, but I'm not yet convinced.

A lot of my nukes as a def already feel like they seriously lack punch, and I understand why this is so, but I don't want that punch further diluted.

We shall see, tho..

Depending on what your difficulty settings are and the enemies you are fighting, "most everything gone" is a dangerous proposition for a Defender. I have really tried to like the nuke powers, but a Defender's nuke is somewhat underwhelming to begin with. Lieutentents tend to survive, and minions weathering the blast isn't uncommon.

With the proposed changes, I may not be able to wipe a full x8 group in one hit, but then again, I never could. To me, a nuke really needs to live up to it's name in order to justify that crash, which is particularly bad for those Defenders who live and die by toggles. If the nuke can't do it's job -with- the crash, then by all means make it a mini-nuke that doesn't crash, and gets used more often.

An ineffectual "nuke" becomes a hard-hitting AoE and available for just about every fight without penalty? Yes please!

"There's villainy ... and then there's supervillainy. The difference is performance."
-Doc_Reverend

I never thought I'd say this... but with the announced changes to Medicine I'm contemplating taking it on a few of my Defenders who lack similar powers in their primary. Having Aid Other + Field Medic sounds like a reasonably decent reactive power combination.

Blackstar is going to be an even more amazing power. If you slot it on a defender, it's 97.5% tohit debuffing for twenty seconds. That's so powerful that it will still floor the accuracy of +4 enemies, and is strong enough to put about a 15% dent in the to-hit of level 50 arch villains when you're 50 as well.

Good point, the secondary effects can definitely be the best part of the deal, for certain secondaries, provided they go unchanged.

The proposed recharge is 90s, right? That'd give a 25 feet PBAoE -20% res to Sonic that'd up every spawn or two after slotting. Wow.

It would also make Atomic Blast a better AoE hold than controllers' dedicated, no damage AoE holds.

Seems too good to stay that way, honestly.

If your remaining Endurance were somehow used to "supercharge" the Nukes That Crash ... such that you'd get a damage buff on your Nuke depending on how much Current End you had when casting ... I doubt anyone would want to give up the End Crash versions. But since all the End Crash does is penalize you for having any Endurance above the minimum casting cost when casting, it does feel like changing the Tier 9 attacks from being Crash Nukes with high Damage Per Activation over to something which can be used more often in a wider array of circumstances which make them less of a "damage spike" and more of a "use early, use often" sort of power ... /em shrug

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