Biospark
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Well BB,Originally Posted by BlackBellatrix
I am one of the many who feels that teams looking for 'healers' are somewhat ignorant about game mechanics and, especially after level 12, a pure healer is something that is not as useful as most other type of defenders.
Now, we often hear a lot of anecdotal evidence on these boards about the healers being praised for their selfless act of having one attack, the medicine pool, leadership and Empathy heals to the detriment of their own character's soloability.
So, my proposal is that a few of us embark on the quest to be pure healers for a bit and track the actualy responses we get and how our play sessions go. Let's play to the best of our ability within the basic healing framework.
As far as allowable powers, I'm thinking we can all be Emp/Archery or Emp/Psi and we will take ALL of our heals and resurrect powers. We will get medicine. I'm thinking Clear Mind is fine but I'm still undecided on Fortitude, as I think we run the risk of losing our True Healer status. Leadership and Teleport are fair game.
What say ye? Are you up to the challenge of being a h34l0r?
This is an interesting idea.
Unfortunately I would not find it something that I would get into personally.
And here is why;
For me, no praise or remarks from my team-mates are needed. I actually get a kick out of watching people slap each other on the back and praising everyone but me. Then I go home to my secret HQ, hang up my cape and smile knowingly that I was a great part of my team's success whether they realize it or not.
If I do get people noticing me, I want it to be more of a shock and amazement response to how well I not only healed, but also did <<insert whatever amazing other things the team didnt know defenders could do>>
My advice for you is to try this yourself if you feel something is to be learned.
Record your findings and come back and show us what the statistics have shown you. -
Quote:Thanks for the responses BalancedOriginally Posted by Balanced
Your proposed CM change is almost certainly not going to happen. We have begged Castle for changes to CM repeatedly, and he looked down and whispered, "No." Well, more specifically, he said that CM and similar powers are not intended for use as proactive buffs, but as release powers. I consider this pure, refined, high-grade yivshish for a number of reasons, but Castle has not been persuaded.
And thanks for your support along the way.
I think that I can see the idea regarding the reactive versus proactive nature of empathy buffs.
Perhaps its just the ingrained habits from other MMOs that makes me see it the way I do.
But I instinctively feel bad when I cannot maintain my buffs on the maximum number of targets as possible.
In all honesty, lately on large teams, I have been using AB and Fort in a more reactive way anyway. I will watch for who seems to consistently get over their heads and Fort them.
Who is out of endurance with a long fight still ahead or someone just rezzed that has no RA on them and hit em with AB.
I will have to try using CM in a more reactive way and see how that goes.
In response to your comments about Castle. I am a sad panda. I am so sad by the idea that some powersets can get self-protection of much greater magnitude than others (like RAD). It makes me wonder what is the logic behind it all.
And then I get sad again
But hey, I can still side-kick some 4SS!
As always, I appreciate the insight and responses -
Thanks for the build sample StratoNexus
I will take a look at this, as well as Laughing_Man's build and see what things I can do with them.
I really appreciate the ideas. Gets my thoughts going in other directions. -
Quote:I agree, nothing would make me happier than to find another way to get more protection and drop this toggle from my list.Originally Posted by SkeetSkeet
I'd look at acrobatics as expendable. One less toggle in a staminaless build is always a good thing and the kb protection can easily be made up with an extra IO somewhere else.
Also, end cost reduction on fort and recovery aura will be very helpful. At 10 and 26, they can really put you in a bind.
The KB I can cover with IOs, but not the hold protection.
What would you reccomend to improve overall mezz protection on a build like this ? -
Wow !
Thanks Laughing_Man, I didnt really think the build was solid.
Figured there were a few major things I over-looked.
I also spent some more time with this build and took the extra slot in sprint over to Fort and put a LoTG in it. Grabbed another LotG somewhere and tweaked something else to get the recharge over 60% which cost me almost nothing in effectiveness.
I do agree with the idea of running only the epic toggle, would give me back 3 powers which could be Maneuvers, Health and Stamina. Health being a great spot for the Unique recovery/regen IOs. But one thing I forgot to mention is that this build is also going to be a merit hunter/Posi friendly build. You may notice the odd power choices before level 22. I wanted at least 10% Defense and 20% resistance S/L, so tough kinda has to stay for that to happen.
Thanks for taking time to look at this build Laughing_Man
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Quote:Originally Posted by The_Laughing_Man
Excellent conclusion there Biospark, and very evenly delivered.
My Empath was my first toon, and therefore has become my badger, and general "favourite toon to play". I play this character a lot and it has as much recharge as it's possible to cram into a build with +208% recharge excluding a visit to the SG buff table every time I log on.
I agree with Strato Nexus in terms of his comments. I have a downtime of 30 seconds on both auras, and there is no real worry when they're running. if I get into a real mess, I have the Geas accolade that will pull the recharge down to around 8 seconds. When I run on teams that stick together, there are very few occasions I need to heal. We do literally turn into an engine of destruction with almost perma auras. Of course, not many people would want to plough as much cash into a build as I have, but the perma-dom mentality is still out there. Perma-auras I think would break stuff.
You're right that you tend to either spend your entire time supporting with lots of clicks, or forget the clicks and blast at the expense of the team. I know I've kind of brought that on myself with stupid levels of recharge meaning Fort is back in 15 seconds. Having Clear Mind as a PBAoE click would be a massive boon. Increase the end cost, and maybe recharge so that at least Empaths have a choice to slot it with something other than 1 END mod.
Or even, just make it last a little bit longer...
I generally play a halfway house now buffing the blasters, defenders, khelds and controllers, then blasting away when that's done.
Thanks for taking the time to post, and keep us updated. I'm not a prolific poster, but I do read the posts.
Nice one! What's your next project?
-H
Thanks for the Post Laughing_Man.
Your Guide was one of the resources that I have referred back to several times during my quest and found something new each time.
As far as projects go, I am kinda tossed on that.
I could start a Warshade or Peacebringer, or continue to outfit Biospark.
Truthfully, Bio is the first character that I have played that has the most upward mobility as far as what can be done to strengthen his build. Every other character I have played, has reached a point where they are pretty solid on all fronts. Bio can always use more of something. More Recharge, More Defense, More Dps, more, more hehe
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Hello folks,
I am exploring stamina-less team builds for my Empath, and I have one here that I would like suggestions on. This is very similar to my current Team build, but I have Stamina instead of the fighting pool. This concept is designed to be in melee range all the time, so I need the fighting pool.
Where I need help is trying to get more recharge, recovery and defense (esp Melee/AoE).
Also, I cannot afford purple sets, so please avoid them in your suggestions.
Thanks for any help
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Level 50 Mutation Defender
Primary Power Set: Empathy
Secondary Power Set: Electrical Blast
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Dark Mastery
Hero Profile:
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Level 1: Healing Aura Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(7), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), Dct'dW-Heal:50(40)
Level 1: Charged Bolts Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(9), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(31), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(39), Efficacy-EndMod:50(42)
Level 2: Lightning Bolt Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(9), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(31), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(39), Efficacy-EndMod:50(42)
Level 4: Heal Other Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(13), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), Dct'dW-Heal:50(39)
Level 6: Boxing KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(7), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(11), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(31)
Level 8: Combat Jumping Zephyr-ResKB:50(A), Zephyr-Travel:50(25)
Level 10: Short Circuit Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg:50(A), Efficacy-EndMod:50(11), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(17), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(21), Erad-Dmg:30(34), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(43)
Level 12: Fortitude RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(13), RechRdx-I:50(15)
Level 14: Tough S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), ImpArm-ResDam:40(15), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(17), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(40)
Level 16: Clear Mind Range-I:50(A)
Level 18: Recovery Aura RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(19), RechRdx-I:50(19)
Level 20: Weave LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:50(21), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg:50(25), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), LkGmblr-Def:50(46), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(46)
Level 22: Hasten RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(23), RechRdx-I:50(23)
Level 24: Super Jump Zephyr-ResKB:50(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx:50(34)
Level 26: Regeneration Aura RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(27), RechRdx-I:50(27)
Level 28: Tesla Cage BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg:30(29), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold:30(29), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(34), Lock-%Hold:30(46)
Level 30: Acrobatics EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(33)
Level 32: Adrenalin Boost RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(33), RechRdx-I:50(33)
Level 35: Ball Lightning Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Posi-Dam%:50(40), Efficacy-EndMod:50(43)
Level 38: Resurrect RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 41: Oppressive Gloom Acc-I:50(A), Dsrnt-I:50(42), Dsrnt-I:50(50)
Level 44: Dark Embrace ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(A), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(45), ImpArm-ResDam:40(45), Aegis-Psi/Status:30(45), ImpSkn-Status:30(50)
Level 47: Soul Drain AdjTgt-Rchg:50(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:50(48), AdjTgt-EndRdx/Rchg:50(48), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx:50(48), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg:50(50)
Level 49: Swift Run-I:50(A)
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Level 1: Brawl Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint Clrty-Stlth:50(A), Run-I:50(43)
Level 2: Rest RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
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Set Bonus Totals:
2% DamageBuff(Smashing)
2% DamageBuff(Lethal)
2% DamageBuff(Fire)
2% DamageBuff(Cold)
2% DamageBuff(Energy)
2% DamageBuff(Negative)
2% DamageBuff(Toxic)
2% DamageBuff(Psionic)
6.75% Defense(Smashing)
6.75% Defense(Lethal)
3% Defense(Fire)
3% Defense(Cold)
11.8% Defense(Energy)
11.8% Defense(Negative)
6.75% Defense(Psionic)
4.88% Defense(Melee)
12.1% Defense(Ranged)
3% Defense(AoE)
6.3% Max End
8% Enhancement(Heal)
48.8% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
27% Enhancement(Accuracy)
83.9 HP (8.25%) HitPoints
Knockback (Mag -8)
Knockup (Mag -8)
MezResist(Confused) 7.5%
MezResist(Held) 10.3%
MezResist(Immobilize) 15.8%
MezResist(Sleep) 7.5%
MezResist(Stun) 7.5%
MezResist(Terrorized) 11.9%
9.5% (0.16 End/sec) Recovery
10% (0.42 HP/sec) Regeneration
4.1% Resistance(Fire)
4.1% Resistance(Cold)
1.26% Resistance(Energy)
1.26% Resistance(Negative)
6.13% Resistance(Psionic)
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Quote:Sorry for the late response Perwira.Originally Posted by perwira
Thanks for your most recent post, Biospark.
With my first character being an empath/electric, I followed your quest with much interest. Just from your own experience, you make a lot of valid points that not everyone understands, particularly of the defender empath's role within a team as well in solo.
Based on your experience and mine, I think the empath defender is a prime candidate for a dual build, one solo and one in team, with the solo build being the most difficult to successfully achieve.
I would never have tried this if we didnt have dual-build options.
There are so many ways to approach solo with most characters, but with an Empath you almost
have to give up all your team ability for certain levels.
And not having ANY team powers before level 20 would be brutal.
I would cry every time someone invited me to a Posi.
I am looking forward to improving both my builds and I will not forget all your slotting advice. I still owe you build info as well.
Should see 50 very soon, and then will need to play around with some sets to see if I can get the difficulty bumped up some.
Till then
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Thanks for the response Strato !
As usual you have a pretty good perspective on the strength of the Powerset.
And thanks of course for all your in-game support as well.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Westley
That's why I said ALMOST. If Fort was able to be perma on an entire team? I'd probably be the ONLY one left playing force fields.
I speak not for myself, but for the "mass public", most of whom are idiots, who would look at Empathy and Force Fields and say "why FF?" and roll the empath.
I did not actually say that it should be perma on the whole team, but proportionally increasing the duration and recharge means less clicking of buffs while playing and more clicking of blasts. -
Hello Defenders, I thought I would post again in this thread to announce the end of my Solo Quest.
At least as far as what I set out to prove, I am not restricting myself to solo work.
Oct 15th is Biospark's 2 month anniversary and he made level 44 on Friday the 9th with a combined 144 hours
of solo play and 19 deaths. I spent the majority of this time at a difficulty setting of (X1, +1level, no bosses)
This was the level that was most comfortable after SOs and the times I bumped it up higher, were a little more
hecktic and likely to get me killed. I am striving to get to a higher level of solo play by 50, but I need a few
more sets and powers first. I am confident that I can add bosses to the settings and increase the number of mobs
as well. Do I think that I could get to (x8, +4level) ? I doubt it. And even if I could, it would take so long to
complete the mission that I would be better off with a different setting.
Conclusions:
1) Empathy is not the best solo oriented set, and it may well be one of the worst solo-oriented sets.
This was something I knew going into the quest, but the challenge was to solo all the way into the end game
with the powerset. And I have proven to myself that this powerset combo can do it. That leads to the
conclusion that any combo can do this, thanks to IOs and in-game difficulty settings.
2) Some things which I knew instinctively, but had affirmed very soundly with this quest are two things.
First, No character is one powerset alone, but the sum-total of all his/her powers.
This is not something new to me, but when I started this quest, I felt that Electric was perhaps the worst
blast set to pair with empathy. As it turns out, there is a very real Syngery to be found between endurance draining
paired with a powerset that offers little or no defense.
Kinda makes me drool thinking about what a Kinetics-Electric defender could achieve.
Secondly, what has been pointed out to me regarding Defenders being better on teams and as such suffer
in a solo environment is very true. I never doubted what a defender brought to a team, and I have played
many of them in that setting. But being able to contrast the solo experience so thoroughly next to team
experience has put this in greater focus.
3) Ok, I also had decided not to make any further judgements on the AT as a whole and empathy in particular.
I hope that any of my posts over the last 2 months have held true to this plan. But with 47 levels behind me
on the Empathy powerset, I really feel that empathy defenders at low levels, due to the low damage of their attacks
make it very hard to deal out the needed dmg to overcome a spawn, and the high endurance cost of their primary
powers makes this even more difficult. However, once you get to higher levels, empathy can be one powerset that
can break the bonds of stamina and be more carefree with the use of high cost powers.
4) SO.. How can empathy be improved ?
My first thought is regarding the two auras. If I remember correctly, they were able to be made perma
at launch. And with the increase in the timers and ED they are no longer able to be perma'd.
Perhaps this was done as just a global effort to prepare for ED and IOs, and these 2 powers just got hit
along with all the other "unstoppable" category of powers, but RA is a level 18 power, Regen Aura level 26.
They should be able to made perma. Especially when you consider how important they become to an empath's build.
This would free up so many options for an Empath when it comes to slotting. If you look at my builds you
will see a significant percentage of my IOs are recharge with the main IO focus as recharge. And realistically,
this is the ONLY way to play the powerset. Not as much flexibility there as there could be.
Everyone, if asked, will cite global recharge as the main IO set category for this powerset, and anyone
that plays the powerset will take "Hasten". Perhaps I am wrong, but dropping the recharge to somewhere closer
to 5 mins rather than 8 mins would be very good for the powerset and I doubt it would over-power it.
If it were too much, perhaps RAs from different defenders could be made unstackable.
Another factor of playing Empathy, which I am sure other Buffing sets suffer is the click-happy nature of Empathy
on a team. Between, Heals, Fort, CM, and Adrenaline. An empath really has a hard time finding space on a fast moving
team for any offense. This is sad for me. But it points out 2 things which I have stated in the past and
believe even more strongly now. A damage boost to defenders to 0.75 mod would greatly help a soloing Defender
but would make only a small impact on a team. Its a simple matter of time. Buffs and Heals can be a full-time
duty on a team. So you could have Blaster level damage and if you concentrated first on "defending" you would still
be doing less dmg than a pure "dps" character. I am not recommending that kind of damage, but I also dont feel that
a 20% dmg increase will do anything but help smooth over the play experience of a defender, especially solo.
A global dmg boost would be an easy fix, but one which would allow an Empath to actually blast more
would make more sense. For instance, making more of the buffs PBAoE like Accelerate Metabolism.
I know I have stated this before, but I am even more convinced that as an empath, I will be doing one of the following on a team;
A) Keeping as many people buffed and healed as possible and doing little to no blasting or...
B) Blasting and keeping a minimum number of heroes buffed and healed.
This is a crappy choice. And even though I dont feel put off by being a support character.
A long play session of managing buffs can be very straining on my senses.
So... Fortitude should be a 4 minute buff, with a longer recharge.
Clear Mind, even though many folks would disagree with me, should become a PBAoE like Accelerate Metabolism.
If Empathy had more defensive powers like other powersets, I would not suggest this type of change.
But Empathy offers 1 tier of survival (Healing and Regen) which when stacked against the other three tiers:
Avoidance, Mitigation and DPS/Speed is arguably the worst at actually keeping you alive.
So giving Empathy an AoE mezz protection would seriously help their solo experience without changing the
team strength overly. But would remove many, many, clicks from the teaming experience of an Empath.
Thus letting them blast more during that free time.
I want to offer many thanks to the community for the support and encouragment I have received.
It has meant a great deal to me as a person and has been very helpful to my in-game experience as well.
I apologize if I dont mention your name, just know that I am very greatful and am not leaving anyone out
on purpose. The list would be quite long and I dont want to sound like its the academy awards.
Good Luck friends
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Quote:Kinda off thread, but related to OG, How do you slot it on your defenders.Originally Posted by PHlRE
yup, the OG mags will stack and you can keep a boss perma-stunned as long as he stays in both fields and they land successful hits....
Currently I only added 1 slot, so I have 2 Stun durations.
But for some reason, a power as useful as this seems to deserve more
Just Curious -
Quote:I agree, thats most likely what would happen, and I for one do not want to see that.Originally Posted by brophog02
Actually, if a differentiation were to occur, it would probably be to bring controllers secondaries down.
It would be better to slightly redefine the defender a bit and make it stand out from controllers in another way. -
Hehe, I immediately saw a familiar idea to me in the video.
My Guildmate runs a Dark-Dark scrapper and has Oppressive gloom.
My Empathy Team build HAS... Oppressive Gloom.
Mmmmmm, step aside Sin City, say hello to Stun City
Nice work, by the way. -
Quote:I also feel that this kind of Inherent would greatly help the defender AT without overpowering it. I have also suggested a stacking endurance savings generated by the blast powers much like blasters get a damage boost that stacks. This would encourage defenders to actually use both their powersets, even on teams.Originally Posted by Rodion
Bingo. I've been advocating for this a long time.
The term "Vigilance" is kind of silly for an AT that is constantly held and stunned. The logical change to the inherent is some kind of mez protection, perhaps a clickable that is built up like Dominate as you use your primary powers. It could retain the reduced End Use (because that's pretty minor as is, and it would provide an interesting quandary for Defenders on when to use it -- I'm low on End: should I click it now or save it in case I get mezzed?).
Dominate provides mez protection in addition to increased efficacy with control powers, so this would not be at all overpowered for Defenders.
This would essentially be a rechargeable permanent Break Free. Unlike the current Vigilance it would give something to solo Defenders, and like Dominate, it could be made to recharge more quickly on teams.
And putting this comment in bold focus:
Breakfrees are the ONLY Inspiration that I have to manage on my Defender. And I can NEVER be out of them, solo or teamed... EVER !Quote:This would essentially be a rechargeable permanent Break Free. Unlike the current Vigilance it would give something to solo Defenders, and like Dominate, it could be made to recharge more quickly on teams
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Quote:You are being too nice to your team leader, by letting him make the decision.Originally Posted by Ultimo_
My question is, what would you have preferred if you were the team leader? Would you have preferred an unslotted buff-bot to a solo oriented but effective Defender?
Just curious.
If it had been me in that position, I would not have offered the choice, but would have instead told him that I had a solo build and not a team build and let him decide whether or not to invite. I dont consider it misleading, just a matter of effectiveness. I would rather play a build that I "knew" worked and was slotted effectively than one that was "not ready for prime-time" sorta speak.
Hehe, kinda like my Empath. He has a team build, its even slotted. And one of these days I will happily jump into a group and not be worried at all about the "Build's effectiveness".
But that will not happen until its fully slotted the way I like.
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Quote:ThisOriginally Posted by perwira
A lot, maybe, but certainly not all the time.
Earlier tonight we had an empath, a scapper, a tanker and an illusion controller (mine) on a team and the focus was more on mob control and elimination.
We didn't lose a single life, much in thanks to our empath, but also in thanks to team play by all of us. Everyone remarked how well balanced our team was, even at +1 difficulty.
Take one of us out and it would have been more difficult. Add one of us, including our emptath, it went so much easier.
And nobody said, great heals, empath. It was more like hey, y'all, nice teamwork.
I think its more common in good groups to say "Good Work" in reference to the whole team than to single anyone out.
In the teams I have been a part of, if you are singled-out, thats usually a BAAADDD ! thing. Lots of folks telling you how to play.
I guess that was my message to the original poster. Go tell that Empath what they "should" be doing, or better yet, ask them politely "why" and then tell them "how to play". Getting mad rarely solves anything. And teams will even get down on someone who has a negative "outlook", even if they are completely right.
Just my opinion
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Well Finally started Missions with Malta in them, They are mean
But I am very close to level 42 now. Should make it by the end of the weekend.
No Deaths yet, but I am back to Inspy managing like I did in my teens. No Break Frees and I feel rather unprotected.
I also finally put together my Team Build that is hopefully Posi Friendly, But I went down a different path.
Decided to look at Dark Mastery powers and took Opressive Gloom at 41 on my team build, Thunderstrike on my Solo Build.
Has anyone else noticed that Oppressive Gloom does not toggle suppress like all other powers ? Every time I am stunned, slept or held, OG turns off and I have to actually re-toggle it. Is this a Bug? -
Quote:Good to Know, I appreciate the two builds for reference.Originally Posted by Grimlek
I'm not real big on 02 Boost myself, having used it on my Illusion/Storm sparingly. I wouldn't skip it, but I don't take it as a priority. Same with Hurricane. I like using it for the tricks, but this is such a tight build, I take it later.
This thread actually inspired me to roll a magic origin Earth/Storm/Fire because it sounds like a blast. Very nice conceptually and powerful as well.
I like to take AS while leveling and I took both AS and Jump Kick on my Earth/Thermal on my soloing build.
I will use something like this to level:
01 => Gale ==> Empty(1)
01 => Fossilize ==> Empty(1)
02 => Stone Prison ==> Empty(2)
04 => Snow Storm ==> Empty(4)
06 => Air Superiority ==> Empty(6)
08 => Quicksand ==> Empty(8)
10 => Hasten ==> Empty(10)
12 => Stalagmites ==> Empty(12)
14 => Super Speed ==> Empty(14)
16 => Freezing Rain ==> Empty(16)
18 => Earthquake ==> Empty(18)
20 => Hurdle ==> Empty(20)
22 => Health ==> Empty(22)
24 => Stamina ==> Empty(24)
26 => Volcanic Gasses ==> Empty(26)
28 => Thunder Clap ==> Empty(28)
30 => Steamy Mist ==> Empty(30)
32 => Animate Stone ==> Empty(32)
35 => Tornado ==> Empty(35)
38 => Lightning Storm ==> Empty(38)
I will probably respec into something like this:
01 => Gale ==> Empty(1)
01 => Fossilize ==> Empty(1)
02 => Stone Cages ==> Empty(2)
04 => Snow Storm ==> Empty(4)
06 => Quicksand ==> Empty(6)
08 => Hasten ==> Empty(8)
10 => Hurdle ==> Empty(10)
12 => Stalagmites ==> Empty(12)
14 => Super Speed ==> Empty(14)
16 => Freezing Rain ==> Empty(16)
18 => Earthquake ==> Empty(18)
20 => Health ==> Empty(20)
22 => Stamina ==> Empty(22)
24 => Steamy Mist ==> Empty(24)
26 => Volcanic Gasses ==> Empty(26)
28 => Thunder Clap ==> Empty(28)
30 => O2 Boost ==> Empty(30)
32 => Animate Stone ==> Empty(32)
35 => Tornado ==> Empty(35)
38 => Lightning Storm ==> Empty(38)
41 => Fire Ball ==> Empty(41)
44 => Fire Shield ==> Empty(44)
47 => Consume ==> Empty(47)
49 => Hurricane ==> Empty(49)
I sounds like you're on the right track, Biospark. Update this thread if you can, and let me know how it's going
Truth be told I would not have taken O2 either, except for whatever reason, this character has ended up on teams 90% of his career, and O2 really does come in handy when teaming.
I have been soloing recently though to get an idea of where I stand on power needs and I notice you have Quicksand+Snowstorm on your early build. I am leaning this way as well, because I did several Radio missions with Steamy Mist up and several with it turned off, and there was a difference. Just not the one I would like.
I would finish fights with about the same amount of health but 25% less endurance. So Steamy Mist helps.... drain my blue bar while providing minimal protection. Snowstorm+QS would (I expect) practically Immobilize a spawn. -
Also for anyone that would like to repsond.
On my Earth/Storm/Fire build I have Identified all the Pool choices I will be taking (11 Powers) which include :
Fitness(3),Hasten, Hover, Teleport(2), Fire Mastery(4)
So here is the dilemna, what 13 powers from Earth and Storm would give the greatest AOE Control and DPS. I have already eliminated Salt Crystals, so there are 4 more to pare off. Thunderclap, Hurricane, Stone Prison(end game respec) and Snowstorm ?
Which means my Level 50 build would Include;
Fossilize, Stone Cages, Quicksand, Stalagmites, Earthquake, Volcanic Gases, Stoney
Gale, O2, Freezing Rain, Steamy Mist, Tornado, Lightning Storm
This looks the closest to my objective. But I am no expert
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Quote:Hello Local_Man,Originally Posted by Local_Man
Rocky, with the addition of Seismic Smash and his change in AI, and his huge resistances, is now one of the best pets. Add one or two of the 10% Resistance for Pets procs, and he is almost unkillable. He can tank for you and is fairly well behaved. And with Power Customization, he no longer has to look like a pile of poo.
Your power choices are certainly not in line with my playstyle . . . No Earthquake? Alternate it with Freezing Rain for a continual knockdown patch. No Quicksand? You don't like a massive 25% Defense Debuff and a location targetted slow patch? I consider these to be essential powers for an Earth Controller. I can understand taking Stone Prison if you intend to solo, but I find it skippable otherwise. The two powers I find skippable in Earth are Salt Crystals and Stone Prison.
No Steamy Mist? Team Stealth + Resistance to three types of damage + a small amount of defense. No Hurricane? Great "panic button" power with a massive ToHit Debuff -- I would not skip this, especially if you don't have a pet to pull aggro for you. O2 Boost, especially without a pet, is certainly skippable even if it is nice to have for teammates. Thunderclap, to stack stuns with Stalagmites? Snow Storm is nice to have but skippable -- I've skipped it on my one of my two Earth/Storm builds.
Yeah I did not list Steamy Mist, Earthquake and Quicksand, but not because I had not considered them. I put them in the group of 10 powers still to decide.
Here are some reasons why;
Snow Storm or Quicksand ? I like QS better and already have it on my Controller (and Steamy Mist by the way hehe) But do I take Steamy Mist for its small defensive nature or Snowstorm AND Quicksand to double stack debuffs. I definitely do not want to take all three, the endurance cost is horrid.
Earthquake or Freezing Rain ? Or Both? Freezing Rain wins this choice. But having both means I have even fewer pool choices so...
Salt Crystals is definitely out. Too hard to get good use except solo, and there are too many other ways to play solo that I wouldnt need it anyway. But thats the only 1 out of 18 powers that I am definitely not interested in taking. Hard choices
Stone Prison, is only in the list for levelling. Once He is 50, I would have Fossilize, Tornado, Lightning Storm, FireBall AND Fireblast. The ONLY thing I could think of Stone Prison for is very hard Targets and in those situations I could always consider Stoney.
I like Hurricane, but just like Steamy Mist, and Snowstorm and every AOE in the combo, how many Endurance heavy powers do I want. For me Hurricane is an easy one to lose on a controller, but not so true on a defender. Perhaps an Illusion or Mind troller would get alot more from Hurricane. Strike that, Mind has Telekinesis, so just Illusion
So the Current WildMage build has (Level 15)
Stone Prison, Fossilize, Quicksand, Stalagmites
Gale, O2 Boost, Steamy Mist
Swift, Recall Friend
Probably will take Freezing Rain at 16, Teleport at 18, Health/Stamina at 20/22
As you can see, not a lot of wiggle room to fit Stamina, Travel and full control/dps by level 20.
Any thoughts ? -
Quote:When I first started playing this game, I fully believed this as well.Originally Posted by StormyDarkness
I've always found better use of smart players regardless of sets being better than a crummy of any power set. Then again, that could just be me.
Yes, I realize I just said "I'll take a smart player over a crummy one" if you take out the rest of the words. However, that's truly how I feel. Give me a team of 8 smart tankers/defenders/etc. versus the greatest team make up one could imagine full of 7 idiots.
And I STILL would rather play with a good team of skilled players over a team of idiots every day of the week.
However, I think on smaller teams, this idea breaks down a little.
My First regular team in this game was a Tanker, Scrapper and Blaster Trio.
Even playing well together and trying as hard as we could, we had lots of deaths.
But I have seen (Recently, I may add), a Team of 2 Defenders and 1 Controller simply MOW down hordes of mobs with little effort. Both trios were good players, but one team was utterly and completely superior in speed and safety.
This kinda leads me (and always seems to when I think too much about balance issues) that some kind of review of Defender powersets needs to be done.
Just my thoughts
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Quote:I REALLY want to see a new set of ATs as well.Originally Posted by StratoNexus
I'd love Katana on blasters as well as a buff/debuff AT with melee attacks.
Controllers got the Melee treatment on the Red-side with Dominators,
so I would love to see a Defender version done the same way.
Maybe Melee Primary and Buff/Debuff Secondary, and some defense/ranged in the Epics. -
Quote:You have me thinking now. Perhaps I have been doing this all wrong.Originally Posted by CosmicThunderer
i like the idea of elemental control and powers. I like the Fire/Storm/Earth and the Earth/Storm/Fire or even Earth/Thermal/Ice all would have great game play.
I could make one of each combination and play them a bit to see which better matches my playstyle, then pick the appropriate Epic once I get there.
So...
Am I missing any combinations;
Earth-Storm
Earth-Cold
Earth-Thermal
Ice-Thermal
Fire-Storm
Fire-Cold -
Quote:Its funny you mention Druidry, my very first Controller way back at launch was an Elf-Looking character that was Magic origin Earth-Storm. His name was Heirophant.Originally Posted by GreenBone
I have a different take than others based more on your concept. If you look at the power selections, and want a good balance of Earth, Air, Fire and Water powers, I think Earth/Storm/Fire is the obvious winner, which it sounds like you may be narrowing in on anyway. Should be very safe, have good burst damage, and plenty of AOE to go around. Plus, what I think is the best mix of your elements.
Having been trained in druidry, I approve this message. <|
I am currently leveling WildMage as an Earth-Storm, because I also agree with this being a good AoE concept character. There is one thing that I notice and probably the biggest reason I am not totally sold on the combination is there is a lot of Duplication of powers and effects.
I have read some guides, and they have been helpful, but I have to admit that this combination (or more accurately Storm combined with any Control primary) offers ALOT of options. You COULD take all the powers, but slots and endurance would be a problem, forever. So, my questions on the combo come down to maximizing AoE control and Dps, without having all 18 powers.
From Storm, I am thinking; Gale(no choice), O2, Freezing Rain, Tornado, Lightning Storm
From Earth : Stone Prison, Cages, Stalagmites, Fossilize, Volcanic Gases
From Fire : Fireball, FireBlast, Fire Shield, Consume
This leaves 10 more picks for pools and additional Primary/Secondary picks
As you can see, my thought on strategy is "Hold Em and Fold Em"
I dont like pets, so I may skip Stoney, but I may take him while leveling, because of having only 2 ST attacks (Stone Prison + Fossilize). I will also take Hasten, so could throw in Flurry if needed for a better attack chain.