Biospark
-
Posts
1439 -
Joined
-
Just as the title says, I am looking for ideas how to make an Elemental Melee toon.
This can be accomplished thru creative use of Power customization as well as the Ancillary and Judgement powers. There are no limits other than I would prefer a melee based toon AND have some evidence of all 4 elements (Air/Water/Fire/Earth).
The best that I have come up with to get all 4 elements is ;
Fire Melee / Dark Armor / Ice Mastery / Vorpal Brute
** Dark powers colored to look like sand, Air being simulated by the Cloak of Darkness plus Spring Attack and Vorpal Judgement ***
Dark can also be colored to look Vaporous like Mist, so another possibility would be;
Dark Armor / Electric Melee / Fire Mastery / Dark Judgement
Any Ideas would be very helpful as I am not attached to any powerset in particular, but certainly leaning toward Dark Armor as either Earth or Water/Air.
Thoughts ? -
Quote:This !Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
WP wins this challenge hands down, I reckon. Not only is it slightly more fire and forget than invuln, shields or SR, it also has the best bang for buck when casually constructed. You really don't need fancy sets to make WP work well. Any defense bonuses you get are nice, recharge is totally irrelevant, and so on. Inv and shield may have much higher highs than WP but not with a simple SO, common IO or cheaply frankenslotted build.
My Tanker had only cheaper IOs like Smashing Haymaker and easily had 30% defense (Tough/Weave/CJ plus WP toggles) and with Stamina AND QR he could easily run all those toggles.
His only nemesis was anything that could hamper his regen
-
Anything */Willpower would be my vote. Played a WP/Fire tanker to 50 and a MA/WP scrapper into the 30s and both were all about bashing attacks. The defense was "set-and-forget" all the way. The perfect set for a person like me that wants to play for stress-relief from my 12-14 hour days.
-
My Newest controller is all about Melee range. He is ICE/KIN
Was planning on an ICE/TIME but the endurance management of Time's Juncture and Artic Air meant that I would not be running them simultaneously until at least 22 (maybe even later). With Ice/Kin, you can get Artic Air and just have at it. Transfusion covers up most wounds and since ICE is one of the lower DPS control sets, Kinetics seems like a perfect fit to solve that problem.
FIRE/KIN would, of course, be even better if your looking for damage, but my characters are all concept toons and this one is about absorbing heat (named HEATSINK ) -
Ok, here are a few of my "ugly" powers;
1-baggers (don't take them anymore)
Any power with an Interrupt or a Crash. I prefer a faster-paced gameplay where I always am pushing one button while preparing for the next. Being interrupted or getting hit with a crash is just "annoying" as hell. I would rather have these powers balanced around normal gameplay. Expecially the "Crash" type powers. They are TIER 9 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Let me have that "moment of glory" every so often. If it is too much power, tone it down some OR... make it not enhanceable in some way (recharge, damage, resist, defense etc...)
2-baggers (not only do I skip, but I skip the entire powerset because of it)
Those tiny half-damage fast recharge bolt powers for Rad Blast, Psi Assault, Peacebringers and Warshades. Geez, I want to put them on auto to save myself some carpal tunnel agitation, but THEN... I shoot something prematurely. Is it possible to make these powers normal Tier 1 blasts ? PLEASE!! They look cool, sound good, but totally do nothing for damage.
Costume destroying powers like Ice, Stone, Quills, etc..
As others have said, you can spend hours making a costume, just so that you can run around as a block of ice on a team.. YAY ! I would much prefer these powers just grant an aura like chilling embrace, or a rocky crumble. Thermal Radiation does a good job but even that can be too invasive on a costume. There really is no easy solution for this one though.
3-baggers (Entire Powersets that I will never play... again)
Sonic Resonance, Empathy, Trick Arrow, Spines, Devices, Radiation Blast, Ice Armor, Stone Armor, Stone Melee, Stone Assault, Peacebringers and Warshades
**too many reasons to cover, just don't like the sets as a whole*** -
Quote:Softcap is over-rated. As some have mentioned, the secret is good Inspy use.Originally Posted by MajorTractor
Hmmm. Can a Shield Tank get to soft cap on SO's? If so, lots of possibilties there.
My Shield tank (dont remember exactly) sits around low to mid 30s without IOs, has some endurance issues which are also fixable with Inspies and destroys spawns ( Shield/SS ).
Also the only thing slow is how long it takes to get thru a spawn. But that actually makes the battle feel like a 'real' conflict as opposed to 'click-click-done'.
If you are trying to min-max and get ultimate XP/minute then you need to IO and consider all AT possibilities. But if your looking for an SO-only farmer, Tankers are the best I have played. Side-note here : I hate hospital trips. If not, then I might be singing the praises of another AT. -
Tanks are great SO-only Farmers.
period... -
Interesting Thread.
Would have to say that "most fun" depends on whether I am on a team or not, because what is the most fun solo is not necessarily the most fun on a team (and Vice Versa).
If I were to come up with an overall opinion based on both types of gameplay it would be;
1) Tankers
2) Controllers
3) Blasters
4) Brutes/Scrappers
5) Dominators <--- although this could end up as my number one, if I ever get one to end game. They are VERY fun
6) Defenders/Corruptors
7) Everything Else
On the opposite end of fun are Kheldians. Having tried both HEATS and VEATS, it really wrankles me that the Hero-side got such an "invertabrate" choice. They really SUCK -
Quote:Wow, I thought that I was the only one with this affliction.Originally Posted by Starflier
This thread is pointless as the clearcut answer to the question of what is the 'weakest' invariably seems to be 'whatever Starflier happens to enjoy playing'.
Which happens to be a Grav/Sonic controller, and a solo Emp/AR defender.
At launch, my first characters were : Emp/Rad defender, MA/SR scrapper, Earth/Storm Controller.
I thought maybe I suddenly "sucked" at gaming because other guildmates (DM/Regen, Ill/Rad, FM/FA) were not having the same trouble. Then I discovered the forums :/ -
Quote:Correct. I have never felt any lack in my ability to team except that I spend a large percentage of my time using my primary powers and less of my time blasting. If you know me, you will understand that one of my big gripes is about solo balance. I am in the minority of players that would take a hit on my buff/heal/debuff potential in order to solo better. Being a side kick is less and less my desire in this game.Originally Posted by Kenteko
In the hope of a fun conversation, I will agree about the discrepancy of self sufficient ATs vs non. The thing is, the EMP/Electric with an equal amount of tweaking or build may likely end up being a much better force multiplier to the team: Forting the entire group, potentially keeping two ABs up (or one AB permanent) on top of both auras and whatever other build/options they want. It's extremely hard to qualify the contribution that a fully forted group gives, on top of AB, but odds are in a team setting that it's as much/more as my brute..
I dont think the devs balance around "solo-potential". If they did, my support set of choice (Empathy) would have gotten some attention long ago. Electric blast, as a set, seems average to me, but that is probably due to the fact that I just LOVE the GFX. Awesome crackling goodness combined with writhing villains =Quote:Originally Posted by Kenteko
The real problem comes with the second half of that mix: Electric Blast. Let's be honest, it's pretty terrible all around. Melee groups have equally bad stinkers: Broad Sword, Pre fix Energy Aura, and a few other arguable ones depending on your goal or intent. The game as a whole is balanced around "Ability to solo" but doesn't generally care about balance beyond that. It's only when massive, world splitting differences show up (Willpower completely invalidated Invuln, Invuln was buffed. VEATs completely invalidated Stalker, Stalker was buffed, etc) that devs tend to bother to even bring stuff down from on high. Even then, it's more likely that they buff the terrible stuff then ever consider nerfing the overpowered stuff, which in turn creates power creep..
I still like Blasters. They are like the Kid brother to scrappers, but packing more devastation in every fight. What should be a concern to Blasters are defender sets that allow Defenders and Corruptors to destroy nearly as fast and in greater safety. Why play a blaster when you can go almost as fast with less deaths. Blasters should be unquestionable AoE powerhouses IMHO.Quote:Originally Posted by Kenteko
This is why blasters feel like they're falling behind the curve, why some sets seem to be comically outperforming everything else, and why some people just feel like there's an oversaturation of tank magi: A power arms race. Why bother playing SR or EA when SD is likely gonna be better in every way? Why bother with Sonic Resonance or Force Field when Cold blows both out of the water? Concept and whatnot notwithstanding, it gets really, really aggravating when you play powerset X and someone else plays powerset X+Y..
I agree with the fix powersets. Although, as I have said many times, the devs should boost up the underperformers until they reach a more stable average performance, and then make enemies harder to defeat. Thus "nerfing" everyone, without actually changing the top performers.Quote:Originally Posted by Kenteko
You want to fix tank magi and power creep, strive to fix the power sets. This has to include nerfs as well as buffs to bring things down to a good middle ground where everyone can contribute equally. It also requires tools such as DPS meters and whatnot to get true tests by people who enjoy doing so to create benchmarks for everyone, BEYOND pylon tests. Stuff like cold has no business dropping more -res then sonic, a set that specializes -res and nothing else, on top of the massive debuffs and buffs it provides. Scrappers fought tooth and nail to get brute damage and fury tweaked down slightly because at the high end, brutes were more survivable and did as much or more damage then scrappers. I find it hard to believe that blasters or stalkers (Being less survivable then scrappers) are going to cause scrappers to get the same treatment, or even buffed upwards..
I agree, sorta. As before, we should not be preaching to "nerf" anything, just fix the low-lying sets. As for Incarnates, I am (and always have been) very disappointed with this addition to the game. Now that I have seen its effects, my opinion has gone from anger to bitterness. Each character concept should be unique and each AT should be a playstyle unto itself. Now, my empath has a Nuke that is better than any Blaster nuke, a Pet that is better than any Controller pet and perma-mezz protection like every Scrapper/Tanker in the game. I am not sure how that makes my character unique and more powerful, OR... simply covers up the balance concerns pre-incarnate.Quote:Originally Posted by Kenteko
Most sets and ATs can and do excel beyond belief at their job with an equally tuned and insanely expensive build as a DM/Inv Brute. Those that can't (PBs, I'm looking at you as the poster child) need to get brought into line with the other sets and those at the top of the totem pole need to get brought down. My sonic/sonic runs something like 8 toggles at 2.25 end consumption (with a cardiac) or something insane along those lines while maintaining a seamless attack chain and keeping everyone buffed, entirely due to sets.
Balance needs to be achieved. Until then, incarnate slots are only going to show the ridiculous discrepancy between powerful sets and the PBs and equivalent sets get left in the dust.
I say ; FIX the powersets to be more balanced. -
Quote:I can see your point regarding the differences between a good player and a bad player , so will not debate the vast majority of what you said.Originally Posted by Kenteko
.....
Create your own difficulty and challenge, it's possible to do so regardless of your build and AT as long as you flex your creativity. It goes a long way.
Essentially, good player > bad player .
But.... You spent alot of time mentioning some of your choices and I would bet any amount of money that a DM/Inv with hundreds of hours and billions of Influence spent will outperform my Emp/Electric with hundreds of hours and billions of Influence spent as far as what they can do solo. Even being played by the same player with the same level of build and solo-competance. Money, Time and Skill matter, but there ARE things that fall into the realm of the game's inherent constraints.
I am not trying to start a fight, just that my observations have shown me that folks who mainly play "self-sufficient" ATs like Scrappers, Tankers and Brutes fail to realize that what they can do is not the same as other ATs. And its not ONLY about skill. -
Quote:This is one of the coolest posts from you that I have seen. Made me laugh.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
I've been a strong opponent of homogenization for a long time (and its my main gripe with the incarnate power system) but now that I've seen what that kind of homogenization does in an actual superhero based MMO, I've gone from strong opponent to "Oh Hell No" religious zealot.
Although, I have to admit that my take has been the opposite for the longest time.
The advent of the Incarnate system has proven (to me) beyond a shadow of a doubt that "homogenized" approaches or, like I like to refer to them; "GURPS", should be avoided on a system designed to encourage "repeatability".
The original design approach was pretty close to the path I would take.
Every AT should be able to take down enemies in a solo environment (mostly because of the genre we are talking about here) but each AT should approach this in different ways.
Where the original design "screwed up" was in the area of Buffs and Debuff. They were simply too powerful. No other MMO can boast such power from a buffing character except Healing. Which is why "healing" is such an important part of those other games.
Any future COH projects should consider going back to the root of the game and "revisit" how the original decisions created "imbalance" between ATs. But they should DEFINITELY stick to the same core IDEA of ATs.
Just my 2 cents -
Quote:I love how Lore Pets get mentioned so much these days as a cure for the pathetic solo capability of Empathy. In fact, the whole Incarnate system probably means that Defender primary balance concerns just got the "round-file" treatment.Originally Posted by Auroxis
Let's see here...
- Perma stun on bosses in your attack chain.
- Great regen and recovery.
- Self heal when needed.
- 3 AoE's to rock the Reactive with.
- Great buffs for Lore pets.
Seems solid to me.
As far as you assesment above, you are forgetting that without Clarion, you have no mezz protection of your own. Empathy is a "Jehkyl and Hyde" powerset. What you can do with RA running (and/or pets) is definitely NOT the same as without. So do you wait for them to recharge ? -
Quote:I did not mention secondaries for Emp and Sonic because there are too many ways to combine powers and ancilaries to say for certain which secondary is THE worst. For what it is worth Archery, Sonic, Ice and Dark do notmake it to the worst list. Which leaves sets like Rad, Electric, and Psi blast towards the bottom of the list and the rest somewhere in between. Take your pick of the worst blast set (mine would be Rad) and combine it with Emp or Sonic and you just made a "gimp" defender.Originally Posted by Akhillius
Unfortunately for you (or not) my Emp/archery Defender can solo +0/x8 very efficiently. RAs, RoA+AoEs, take out stragglers, if any, and repeat.
As for Electric armor, my Elec/Kinetic/mu tanker is indestructible. It can solo labs/warehouse in lambda incarnate trial for example. I literally took out almost every box of sweets in one lambda trial run by itself. Energize is also a much better heal than Dark's and Fire's because it increases your regen greately and also reduces your endurance consumption for 30s or something like that.
Something that's extremely gimped is EM/dark stalker. Sure, it can take out anything with its' huge burst dmg but that's it. After you take out one enemy the rest swarms you and swat you like a fly. Tried and true.
I will have to take your word for it on Stalkers, but having played all the Melee defense sets, they all function (especially once you have some IOs) but I have found Energy and Electric to be slightly less powerful than the rest. It is just my opinion that I would take Fire or Dark over Electric and by the same token I would take Shields or Super Reflexes over Energy. YRMV -
Quote:Originally Posted by Jibikao
Doesn't Blaster's Radiation have modified version? You get the typical 4s/1s and 8s/1.67? I think Radiation Blast seems pretty good on Blaster because of Cosmic Burst's mag 3 stun. Should be pretty useful. And Radiation Blast has like 3 aoe.
On Corruptor, I absolutely hate Radiation Blast for the same reason you listed (I don't like spam low recharge attacks). :P I almost deleted my lvl 42 Rad/Sonic Corr.
Hmm could be. To be honest, I have tried Rad Blast many times on defenders and when I heard it was ported to Blasters, I actually felt sorry for Blasters. Maybe they should consider fixing the Defender/Corruptor versions. -
Interesting thread.
Probably would be best to preface each combo by AT, because even the worst Tanker combo will solo better than your average defender combo.
So my picks for the Hero ATs would be;
Defender: Empathy/*any* with Sonic/*any* possibly worse
Controller: this one is too Easy ; Grav/Empathy
Blaster : Radiation / Devices (never liked the low damage / fast recharge powers much)
Probably why I cannot get a Peacebringer past the low levels.
Scrapper/Tanker : The Attack sets are all decent, but the Electric Armor defense seems a tad weaker than the rest. The set is solid, but has similarities to Dark and Fire, but those sets both have self-rez and better healing. -
Quote:Yeah, doing a bit of homework for IOs has shown me that set bonuses are going to take some experimenting with. Electric Blast pairs well for another reason by the fact that you can get away with not taking several blast powers. My Group build for Emp/Elec only has 5 of the 9 powers, and my solo build only has 6. This allows more slots to be moved around on the Primary side. If you went, for instance, Time/Archery or Time/Ice, I could see some real "hand-wringing" over which powers to take and which ones to slot up for IOs.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
...
EDIT2: Need moar slots! This is looking like a seriously slot heavy build. I normally have a few "one slot wonder" powers I can starve to feed important powers but it seems like everything needs lots of slots and those 6-slotted powers really eat them up.
I can definitely see that. I've been mocking up a Time/Elec/Elec Defender and I think I'm going to have to switch to Time/Elec/Mu to get all of the powers I want (which upsets me because then the colors won't match and Shocking Bolt is, for some reason, a LOT better than Electric Shackles). -
Quote:"WE". ??Originally Posted by Reppu
Saying Fire Blast is a good combo is stating the obvious. It's a freakishly overpowered set!
That aside, people saying that Time Manipulation is "Godly" with incarnate abilities should stop there. We're trying to focus on the set's ability to stand on it's own two feet.
Sorry, but I have already done my testing of the set and have moved on to how my live characters will flesh out. This set has replaced Radiation as my favorite SOLO defender powerset, but your welcome to discuss "low-level" balance concerns if you desire. -
Quote:I tend to agree more with this post more than the person prior.Originally Posted by Reppu
No, no. Willpower, with IOs, is probably the single strongest defensive set in the game, with very few holes to speak of. It might start off as a "Jack of all Trades", but it quickly becomes a "Master of All". Except bonus damage, but eh.
Time Manipulation is honestly what Trick Arrow WANTED to be, but failed. Well, not quite. Time Manipulation technically has no damage power.
When making my Time character on live, he will want to go for ranged defense to fill in one of those "holes", add Clarion later and the Endurance Alpha (name slips my mind atm) and this set screams 'godly' to me. -
Quote:Dont worry Adeon, I played one on test, but I am certain that I will not be playing one on live. Most likely I will be making a Time/??? Defender that is NOT elec, but I am keeping to myself for now which powerset.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
Dang it, I was planning to roll a Time/Elec. If you all do so as well then I won't be a special snowflake. hehe
-
Quote:My Beta character was/is Time/Elec and the synergy is pretty nice, although not for the reasons you might think. Tesla + Time Stop will hold a Boss.Originally Posted by theduke24
My favorite fender blast sets are /dark and /son... and i really wanted a time/son. I could do it but i feel like itd be to much work, and plus ive always wanted a /elec. Time works well with /elec because it gives you time to sap them dry, the slows, -tohit, +defense, and the holds help to slow down the damage they throw at you, and the +recharge in the set helps you spam -end/recov. Now that i think about it, im really looking forward to time/elec :P
All the effects work well for a character that needs to be in melee range especially, but what really is nice is the -res debuff makes Electric blast feel more offensive. I did not even need to sap things to survive.
Time suffers from one of the same difficulties as RAD in that a mezz will drop Time's Juncture and you will get hurt afterwards. Farsight, however, is a tremendous Buff that will help you survive that eventuality.
Time manipulation is very heavy on endurance usage, so, much like Forcefields, needs to invest in good recovery sets and recharge for Chrono-Shift. -
Some of the numbers are off on the list of effects.
In particular Time's Juncture was reduced in effectiveness and some of the later powers had their recharge reduced. -
Quote:Certainly is. 50.4% S/L, 40.9% En, 20.9% everything esleOriginally Posted by Silas
Is your build with Scorpion Shield softcapped? Going from just the shield itself to softcapped makes a world of difference.
Again, the problem does not even show itself until I crank up the number of mobs.
At X1, X2 nothing touches me. At X3 I can have some close calls, but usually win out.
At X4, for whatever reason, the amount of damage and cascade failure possibilities makes a hospital trip almost a guarantee.
No worries though.
I am probably retiring the Empath until they decide on giving the set a new look. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Silas
Really? I find with my Empath IOd the biggest problem solo is speed. Softcapped s/l defense, Regen Aura and Healing Aura keep me alive, Rec Aura means I have 0 endurance problems so its just killspeed slowing me down.
With Elec you can sap or hold bosses so that shouldn't be a big deal. What is it that you find is getting you killed? Are you using inspirations liberally? They drop like candy, eat 'em up son.
Sapping is my main trick, I Superspeed (with Celerity) into a spawn and drop SC + Powersink. Fire off SC and Ball Lightning as quick as they recharge, Use Tesla repeatedly on dangerous targets.
Obviously different enemy groups have their unique problems (Sappers for Malta, Dark Ring Mistress for Carnies, etc...)
After working on this toon and trying Scorpion shield (2nd Build) and my team build, I am starting to suspect that the core issue is HPs. I can easily be pummelled to death even with Clarion up and Both RAs. This is Especially true on my Scorpion Shield build which has no resistance. I have found that my Team build which is around 20% defense, but has resistance to S/L/En performs better while solo. Either way that I go, it is like playing Regen; I am Good, I am Good, I am... dead! Wow that was quick. -
Quote:I guess it is just a matter of perspective.Originally Posted by DrGemini
I've soloed very well with both my Empathy Defender and my Ice/Emp controller. Do I take on things as difficult as my other characters might? No. But, I don't look to solo +4/x8 with every character. In fact, most of my characters I really don't have to solo with at all due to a great group of people I run with.
I have spent between 1 and 2 billion on my IO'd Emp/Elec and was only able to solo with success (meaning no deaths each mission) at +0/x3 No Bosses prior to Incarnates.
With Uncommon Incarnates in every slot I can now do +0/x3 with Bosses if I am careful, but +0/x4 no bosses is still guaranteed death at least once per mission.
By Contrast my WP/Fire Tank could easily do +0/x5 with Bosses with NO IO SETS.
I get that Defenders are a team oriented AT, but so are Tanks. I get that two ATs compared on SOs should perform differently as well. But comparing a Non-IOed character to a very mature and fully IO'd character should not be this way. Or else, WHY spend the time and money to trick out a toon. My team performance was not improved by spending all that coin. Should I NOT build a character to perform well on teams AND solo ?
In the end, it is not my game. But Empathy Sucks ! You can get Team oriented characters that are nearly as usefull (if not just as usefull with IOs) and STILL SOLO with the best of them.
FYI. +4/x8 has never been my goal. Would be nice to do something like +0/x5 with Bosses though. Would make me feel like I had invested all that Influence for some reason.