DrMike2000

Fair enough, Prof.

Oh yeah, put the full GSFC set in tactics rather than Power Build Up.
That way the Build Up proc has a chance to go off every 10 seconds, instead of every 2 minutes when you activate Power Build Up. And the END cost reduction is better there.

[ QUOTE ]
What do you think of this?

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.4006
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Gold Cop II: Level 50 Technology Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Energy Blast
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Medicine
Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(3), LkGmblr-Def(3), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(17), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(21), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21)
Level 1: Power Bolt -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(5), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Dev'n-Hold%(45)
Level 2: Power Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(7), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Dev'n-Hold%(46)
Level 4: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(43)
Level 6: Insulation Shield -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(9), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(9), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(19), LkGmblr-Def(19), LkGmblr-Rchg+(25)
Level 8: Hover -- Frbd-Stlth(A), DefBuff-I(36)
Level 10: Power Burst -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg(11), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Dev'n-Hold%(43), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(13), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(13), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(15), LkGmblr-Def(15), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
Level 14: Fly -- Srng-Fly(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly(48)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 18: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Efficacy-EndMod(A), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx(23), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(23)
Level 22: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(25), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(27), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(29), LkGmblr-Def(31), LkGmblr-Rchg+(31)
Level 24: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(37), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(37)
Level 26: Repulsion Bomb -- Rope-Acc/Stun/Rchg(A), Rope-EndRdx/Stun(27), Rope-Acc/Rchg(29), Rope-Acc/Stun(34)
Level 28: Aid Other -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/Rchg(36)
Level 30: Aid Self -- Numna-Heal/Rchg(A), Numna-Heal(31)
Level 32: Force Bubble -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), EndRdx-I(33), EndRdx-I(36), EndRdx-I(46)
Level 35: Force Bolt -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(37), RechRdx-I(43), Acc-I(48)
Level 38: Vengeance -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(39), LkGmblr-EndRdx/Rchg(39), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), LkGmblr-Def(40), LkGmblr-Rchg+(40)
Level 41: Power Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(48), GSFC-Build%(50), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(50)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- TtmC'tng-ResDam(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(45), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45)
Level 47: Resuscitate -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
------------
[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]11.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]11.3% Defense(Psionic)[*]2.5% Defense(Melee)[*]2.5% Defense(Ranged)[*]2.5% Defense(AoE)[*]37.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]2% Enhancement(Stun)[*]45% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]10% FlySpeed[*]179.3 HP (17.6%) HitPoints[*]10% JumpHeight[*]10% JumpSpeed[*]MezResist(Held) 23.7%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 2.2%[*]5% (0.08 End/sec) Recovery[*]116% (4.93 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]0.95% Resistance(Fire)[*]0.95% Resistance(Cold)[*]15.6% Resistance(Psionic)[*]10% RunSpeed[/list]


<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy &amp; Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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Edited for legibility.

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks expensive, like PK said. !!

It also isnt really maximising your defence in any area other than vs Psi, with all those Devastations.
Replacing those LoTG sets with Red Fortunes would not only save you millions but give you some decent Ranged Defence, and keep some Recharge thru normal set bonuses instead of the uniques.

I'd say this is more of a standard FF Defender build than a "tank-mage" or "self defender" or whatever you want to call them.

One thing I missed in my original guide was the importance of Psionic Defence - its "the fourth position" if you like.

Mind Control/Illusion style attacks dont count as Ranged, so building up Psi Defence is the best way to handle them. Many of them are sleeps, (including Carnie Illusionists Blind) so theyre worth avoiding.

Devastation (+3.75% vs Psi for the full set) and Sciroccos Dervish (+3.125% vs Psi for the full set) are your friends here. Expensive, but worth having.

And yeah, I found this whole accumulating Defence gave me a purpose on my FF Defender. Otherwise, most of the key powers seemed to have come by level 20 or so.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would love to see - COMPRESSION FIELD

Basically the opposite of Force Bubble.
A target AoE force field that compresses down and pulls in all foes in nice and close together.
Kinda like a AoE immob except the foes can move, they just cant move out of the area. (maybe an acc check to keep them in the field)
It would be nice if it had a minor DoT (due to the increased pressure)

[/ QUOTE ]
I was actually going to suggest this to Philly in PMs but I don't think it's doable with the current code.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its not only a cool idea, but its quite doable in code.

I pulled off a similar trick in Freedom Force to create a "Personal Gravity Well" effect. If I could do that using just a Python Script interface, Im pretty sure Cryptic, with their full access to the source code of this game, could make it happen here.

I wholeheartedly back up your point about using AB on another Empath.

I've dual-boxed an Empath duo, and by using AB, Hasten and alternating auras, I played the entire game at around +1000% Recharge and Recovery.
Plus at that recharge you can keep a large team double Fortituded around the clock.

Game-breaking indeed.

Very good advice here.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
# Bug: Absorb Pain inflicts the user with the inability to be healed, even if the target had been defeated before the power could go off. Technically not a bug. Remove?

[/ QUOTE ]

Remove. Not a bug, working as intended.

[ QUOTE ]
# Balance: Clear mind's animation (3.1 seconds) makes prebuffing a large team prohibitive, and using it as a release deadly.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think this is a balance issue. Power is working just fine. Just stop stacking it on everyone and prebuffing large teams with it, which 99% of the time is a total waste of time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Those were both listed on the only copy of the original list I could find, and I have very limited experience with Empathy to make a call about them, so I included them.

I'll remove them, making Empathy practically perfect in every way.

[/ QUOTE ]

To be honest I don't think there are any current bugs in Empathy. So maybe perfect in a buggy since, but not perfect. Hell, I could make a list asking for CM with a 1 second animation, a 20 s recharge on RA, etc. Nice for a wish list, just not something I think belongs in a a current issues thread.

Aware you didn't make this list, just providing feedback on the sets I am most familiar with.

[/ QUOTE ]

Clear Mind has a 3.1 sec activation time.
Clarity in Sonic has 1.5 sec, Thaw in Thermal radiation has 2.17s.

Since the devs have admitted that they didnt factor in animation times in their early balancing equations, and have corrected this for Tier 1 and 2 Blaster primaries and Defender secondaries, there's no reason not to raise this as an issue with Clear Mind.

I dont think its clear that the long animation time is intentionally there to stop or discourage you from using it pre-emptively, more because the animation looked right at the time.

[ QUOTE ]
and Energy is rarely found so much so that invul tanks get resist Energies passed lvl 30.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's plenty of Energy damage around. Off the top of my head

Freakshow - all their Electrical attacks are Energy
Rikti (and Lost) - Energy attacks from their guns. The blades do dual Lethal/Energy damage, so Energy Defence counts against them.
Tsoo Ink Men - use Energy melee.
Arachnos - use energy blasts from maces, armoured guys or spiders.
Cabal - electrical blasts.
Banished Pantheon - Storm Shaman's Lightning Storms
Carnie Attendants - electrified hoops do lethal/energy
Rularuu Eyeballs. Not that defence helps against them much..
Malta Sappers. Its nice when they dont hit you, isnt it?

Invulnerable tanks generally take Resist Energies late because its a very small bonus and not really a core power to the set. Invulnerability is weak vs Energy by design.

Willpower is given a good solid power to deal with the not-so-uncommon "exotic" damage types, and its bad advice to tell people to skip it.

[ QUOTE ]
If your planning on getting Tough and or Weave you don't need Heightened Senses. As you will be capped defense wise. Instead of Air superiority I would have people take Combat Jumping since the numbers are the same as Heightened Senses(smash and lethal). Plus a 3% defense towards fire cold and energy is not really noticed. "You show me environmental damage, and I'll show you how to beat Recluse in 3 seconds ." As for the perception bonus, It hasn't stopped me from running two tanks to 50 without perception. Again I would advise against HS if your getting tough and or weave.


[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't Heightened Senses Willpower's main protection against Fire/Cold and Energy/Negative? It offers a tiny bonus vs S/L, yes, but 13% base Defence (20% slotted) to these damage types. That stacks really nicely with Weave's 5%.

[ QUOTE ]
I've always wondered if a Fire/FF troller stacking Smoke on the enemies could even out to the same damage mitigation (less +defense given, but less +def needed to cap because of a lower enemy acc). Someone should run those numbers.

[/ QUOTE ]

They dont. Smoke gives a piddly -5% to Hit debuff, which unlike defence gets reduced by higher conning enemies.

However, the majority of enemies will be stunned or held, which kinda makes up for the loss of defence...

Controller bubbles slotted are 1.55*(7.5+12.5)=31.1% Defence, +5 for smoke = 36.1% defence vs even cons. So its not as good as a Defender still.

My 2c on Secondaries:

Defender primaries and secondaries can both be rated on an aggressive/defensive scale.
Aggressive meaning that you speed up a teams arrest rate through trick like +Rech, +Dam buffs and -Def -Res debuffs, defensive meaning you up a teams survivability through +Def buffs, -Rech debuffs, -Dam debuffs and so on.

Force Fields are the most defensive primary.
Even Dark and Sonic get -Res debuffs that can up team damage, Force Fields get some AoE damage now in Repulsion Bomb but no aggressive force multiplier for the team.

I've often found good Defender combos work by pairing agressive primaries with defensive secondaries and vice versa, a classic one being Kin/Elec. Kinetics boosts the medicore damage of Electrical Blast, which in turn adds a needed extra lkayer of safety to Kinetics.

For this reason I'd recommend against FF/Elec for a balanced Defender who's capable of solo-ing if needs be.
Elec is a defensive set with its END drain and lack of a third heavy single damage attack.
Similarly, Dark Blast and Psi are quite defensive sets, who's contributions are somewhat redundant when paired with Foirce Fields.

The two most offensive secondaries are /Rad and /Sonic, both of which directly up team damage by making the enemy easier to hit and more susceptible to damage respectively.
Rad has a lack of synergy with Repulsion Field and Force Bubble since it has short range attacks, Sonic is almost the perfect secondary for a FF Defender who would like to work well both on teams and by themselves.

I love the way you've written this.
I dont have any plans for a WP?SS build in the near future, but couldnt put this down.

[ QUOTE ]

If that what I seemed to be saying, I misspoke. I intend no slight against any other AT.


[/ QUOTE ]

More referring to the posts before yours, Jock. One day Ill get into the habit of using this quote feature.

I just find it a bit odd to paint archetypes with these broad strokes when most players have probably been all of them, even though we all have our tendencies to favour certain ATs and sets.

[ QUOTE ]

Someone help me pick a better term than situational awareness. Can I just call it Defending?


[/ QUOTE ]

I'd call it Spider-Sense.
Just so its named after a Super-Reflexes Tanker, of course.

Im sure the Tanker forum would disagree with the idea that they dont need situational awareness.

I'd also say a Blaster with no defences needs more situational awareness than, say, a Dark Defender running Darkest Night in the middle of a mob.

This is denigrating other AT's, lets not, eh? We dont need to.

[ QUOTE ]
Pretty sure it's just a stalker with a braggy name.


[/ QUOTE ]

So... if Legendr is a typical teenage braggy stalker, does that mean "Mother of Legendr" is his actual Mum kicking him off the computer and then Pwning you in revenge?

Im confused.

Im really starting to dig these stories, by the way.

/bind uparrow "e backflip$$cc 1"

The list of key names is here:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...Number=8777001

And make sure there isnt a space after the double $$ signs.

Ive finally written my Self Defence guide for Defenders:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....=0#Post10009505

SELF DEFENCE FOR DEFENDERS

This guide covers a few variations on the same theme - how can a Defender be built as an effective blaster/tanker hybrid?

THE AIM
The advice in here will not produce a min-maxed build, but rather a good approximation to the common character concept of an artillery unit with ranged attacks and good personal defences.
The aim is that you should be able to stand directly in the line of fire and take the alpha for small teams at least, and not have to rely on your burst damage or pre-emptive mezzes like a blaster does.
Teammate buffing, generally considered the forte of the Force Field and Sonic primaries, takes a back seat in these builds, and is not fully developed until later on.
It may be worth noting this in your search comment. On the other hand, many teams may not notice. If you spend much of your career with only Deflection Shield, then the only atacks you fail to block are ranged exotic damage (and END drain) - many teams wont notice the difference too badly before level 30. Similarly with Sonic, the worst spike damage is often Smashing or Lethal, so Sonic Barrier without Sonic Haven will often be enough for the start of your career.

PERSONAL DEFENCES
Force Fields or Sonic as a primary are pretty much mandatory, as this is the only reliable way to get any mez protection. Available at level 12 in both cases. These powers provide no protection vs Sleep, this will always be your weakness.

Dispersion Shield: +12.5% Defence vs All (20% slotted), protection vs immobilise, stun and hold
Sonic Dispersion: +15% Resistance vs S/L/F/C/E/N/T (24% slotted)

Tough and Weave from the Fighting pool provide added protection to stack with these.
Available at level 14 and 20, and require another prerequisite power such as Boxing or Kick.

Tough: +15% Resistance vs S/L (24% slotted)
Weave: +5% Defence vs all (8% slotted)

Epic Shields
At level 44 most Epic set provide a shield power, giving good Smashing lethal resistance and some resistance to exotic damage.

Dark Embrace: +27.5% Resistance vs S/L (44% slotted), +15% Res vs Toxic/Neg (22.5% slotted)
Charged Armor: +27.5% Resistance vs S/L (44% slotted), +20% vs Energy (32% slotted)
Temp Invulnerability: +30% Resistance vs S/L (48% slotted)
Mind over Body: +27.%% Resistance vs S/L (44% slotted), +20% vs Psi (32% slotted)

Set bonuses can provide extra defence or resistance. In my opinion, the best ones worth chasing are the Positional Defence bonuses that come from six-slotting various sets. In practice, these wont kick in until the high 20's, when you have the slots, the influence, and access to all sets e.g. Thunderstrike (6-slotted): +2.5% Defence vs Ranged. Available at level 27 onwards.

Full lists are on Paragon Wiki here:
http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/C..._Melee_Defense
http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/C...Ranged_Defense
http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/C...Effect_Defense

Steadfast Protection IO:
A unique IO that goes in a resistance power, and adds 3% Defence vs All. This works well in Tough, for example.

Other pool powers:
Hover or Combat Jumping:+2.5% Defence vs All (4% slotted). Recommended.
Stealth: +3.5% vs All, drops to +1.75% Def vs All when you attack. Not recommended
Manouvres: +3.5% Defence vs all (5.6% slotted). Recommended, especially since it helps cap teammate defence for a Force Fielder.

Defender resistance caps at 75%. Its quite easy to exceed this on a Sonic Defender against Smashing and Lethal.
Dispersion + Tough (slotted): 48% vs S/L, 24% vs F/C/E/N/T
Dispersion + Charged Armour: 68% vs S/L, 56% vs Energy, 24% vs F/C/N/T

Defence hits a soft cap at 45%. Its possible to come very close to this value with a Force Field Defender.
Dispersion (slotted) + Hover: 22.5%
Dispersion (Slotted) + Hover + Tough(w Steadfast) and Weave(slotted): 33.5%
Dispersion (slotted) + Hover + Tough(w Steadfast) and Weave(slotted) + Manouvres (slotted): 39% Defence vs All

ACCOLADES
The extra hit points from Fredom Phalanx Reserve Member or Portal Jockey will be most welcome on these builds. If you dont know what Im talking about, read more here on Paragon Wiki:

http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/CoH_Accolades

LEVELLING
These builds can be slow to come together. Many tools are not available until later on, and the defence and resistance become much more effective once they're stacked.

For this reason, I'd recommend levelling the character up to 20 as a more conventional Defender, and then burning a respec in order to get Stamina and the defence powers required to tank. Typically, another respec may be in order once Epic Shields are available, as Tough may become droppable at this point.

FORCE FIELDS OR SONICS?
Force Field is the better defensive set.
It provides some defence against untyped Psi attacks, which includes the sleep attack used by Rikti Mentallists and Tsoo Ink men. As Defence rather than Resistance it also avoids secondary effects such as debuffs or END drain. A defence based build can provide around 80% damage mitigation for the user quite easily.

A Sonic based Resistance build will provide more like 50% damage mitigation, and none against Psi attacks. It does however, offer great resistance debuffs in the form of Sonic Siphon and Disruption Field, making it a nice mix of offence and defence.

SECONDARY POWERS
Any secondary will work.
Dark Blast adds some nice accuracy debuffs to stack with any defence for a Force Field set, or layered Def/Res Sonic set.
Single target blasts are often required to bump up Ranged Defence via the Thunderstrike set, but generally no more than three are required. Dark could substitute the Stupefy set in Dark Pit (+3.13% vs Ranged) and Electrical Blast could
put Blood Mandate in Voltaic Sentinel (+3.75% vs Ranged) to more than cover their lack of a third single target attack.

With Sonic, a more defensive secondary is probably better. Dark provides to Hit Debuffs, Energy provides the nebulous mitigation of knockback, Psi provides its grab-bag of knockdowns, recharge debuffs and sleeps to assist here. Sonic/Rad or Sonic/Sonic would be very aggressive builds, for example, perhaps too much so for the aims of this exercise.

EXAMPLE BUILDS

At the time of writing, Cosmika is level 26 and Adam Zorn is level 12, so much of these builds are theoretical. However, Cosmika definitely shows signs of the plan coming together. Having Tough and Sonic Dispersion certainly makes her play
differently from a blaster as I can buzz groups of Warwolves in Striga without fear, having plenty of time to flee straight up if things start to go bad.
Adam is currently still pre-level 20-respec, so his build is purely a theoretical exercise to date.

EXAMPLE BUILD 1 - COSMIKA

Cosmika is a Sonic/Energy Defender, an attempt at creating a classic "Cosmic Energy" powered character. Regular exposure to cosmic energy from her ship's core allow her to fly, increase her durability and strength, fire concussive force blasts and transmute atomic density to make allies tougher or enemies weaker.

Her levelling build from 20 to 40 is shown below:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php

Cosmika: Level 40 Science Defender
Primary Power Set: Sonic Resonance
Secondary Power Set: Energy Blast
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Sonic Siphon -- Acc(A), Acc(9)
Level 1: Power Bolt -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:39(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(19), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:39(37)
Level 2: Power Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:39(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:39(7), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:39(29), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(31), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(31)
Level 4: Energy Torrent -- Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx:39(A), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg:39(5), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng:39(5), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg:39(7), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(9)
Level 6: Sonic Barrier -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(40), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:39(40)
Level 8: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 10: Power Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:39(11), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:39(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:39(15), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(17), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(19)
Level 12: Sonic Dispersion -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:39(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg:39(13), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg:39(13), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:39(15), TtmC'tng-ResDam:39(17), TtmC'tng-EndRdx:39(29)
Level 14: Hover -- Flight(A), Flight(25), Flight(25)
Level 16: Boxing -- Acc(A)
Level 18: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Tough -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:39(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg:39(23), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg:39(23), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:39(31), TtmC'tng-ResDam:39(34), TtmC'tng-EndRdx:39(36)
Level 24: Fly -- Flight(A)
Level 26: Disruption Field -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(27), EndRdx(27)
Level 28: Power Push -- RechRdx(A)
Level 30: Sonic Haven -- ImpSkn-ResDam/EndRdx:30(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(40)
Level 32: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:39(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:39(33), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:39(33), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(33), RedFtn-Def:39(34), RedFtn-EndRdx:39(34)
Level 35: Explosive Blast -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx:39(36), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg:39(36), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng:39(37), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(37)
Level 38: Nova -- C'ngBlow-Dmg/Rchg:39(A), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg:39(39), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:39(39), C'ngBlow-Acc/Dmg:39(39)
Level 41: [Empty]
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance



<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy &amp; Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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</pre><hr />

At level 40 she has:
Resistance: 47% vs Smashing/Lethal, 25% vs Fire/Cold, 27% vs Energy, 23.5% vs Dark/Toxic
Defence: 14.5% vs All, 22% vs Ranged and Energy, 19.5% vs Melee, 18.25% vs AoE

Cosmika does all this without using any expensive orange sets that require magical salvage.

3-slotted Hover is used for flying during combat, to help stay out of range of melee and to turn knockback into knockdown where possible.
Ally resistance is still not maxed out as slots have been sacrificed from Sonic Barrier and Sonic Haven, but still provide 48% Resistance to all damage types - good enough to support a team. The 6% or so missing form a min-maxed buffbot build can easily be made up for with the aggro that can be drawn and taken using Energy Torrent and Explosive Blast to open a fight.

Once Charged Armour is available, Boxing Tough and Weave could be dropped. They still provide half our defence, one expensive way to make this up is to replace two power choices with Manouvres and Tactics six-slotted with Gaussian's Synchronised Fire Control. This gives +2.5% Defence vs Melee, Ranged and AoE, so the two powers provide 8% Defence. It helps that the Steadfast IO is in Sonic Barrier here - losing that and Weave together would be a big hit.
This move would also allow us to pick up Aim or Liquefy, or some other useful ability we've skipped. Maybe Aid Other and Aid Self to improve survivability.

EXAMPLE BUILD 2 - ADAM ZORN

Adam Zorn is a FF/Rad Defender. He is a robot from an advanced Kirby-esque parallel world with quantum field manipulation abilities, allowing him to locally alter reality to bend space, prevent injury to his teammates with "anti-violence fields", increase his own density and project burst of elementary particles.

At level 40 he'd look like this:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php

Adam Zorn: Level 40 Technology Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Fighting

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection Shield -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:39(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:39(36), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:39(36), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(36), RedFtn-Def:39(40), RedFtn-EndRdx:39(40)
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:39(3), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:39(5), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:39(9), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(19), Dev'n-Hold%:39(40)
Level 2: X-Ray Beam -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:39(3), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:39(5), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:39(9), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(19), Dev'n-Hold%:39(23)
Level 4: Force Bolt -- RechRdx(A)
Level 6: Irradiate -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:39(7), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg:39(7), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg:39(15), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(25), Sciroc-Dam%:39(39)
Level 8: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 10: Electron Haze -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:39(11), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:39(11), Posi-Dmg/Rng:39(15), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(25)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:39(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:39(13), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:39(13), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(17), RedFtn-Def:39(17), RedFtn-EndRdx:39(23)
Level 14: Recall Friend -- EndRdx(A)
Level 16: Teleport -- Range(A)
Level 18: Health -- Heal(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21)
Level 22: Boxing -- Stpfy-KB%:39(A)
Level 24: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(A), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(27), S'fstPrt-ResKB:30(27), ResDam(34)
Level 26: Weave -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:39(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:39(29), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:39(29), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:39(33), RedFtn-Def:39(34), RedFtn-EndRdx:39(34)
Level 28: Cosmic Burst -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:39(31), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:39(31), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:39(31), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(33), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:39(33)
Level 30: Insulation Shield -- DefBuff(A)
Level 32: Force Bubble -- EndRdx(A)
Level 35: Neutron Bomb -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:39(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:39(37), Posi-Dmg/Rng:39(37), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:39(37)
Level 38: Atomic Blast -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), Dmg(39)
Level 41: Kick -- Empty(A)
Level 44: [Empty]
Level 47: [Empty]
Level 49: [Empty]
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance



<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy &amp; Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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</pre><hr />

Defence: +31% vs All, +41% vs Ranged, +34% vs AoE, +33% vs Energy +41% Defence vs Psi
Resistance: 22% Smashing/Lethal, 7% Fire/Cold, 3% Neg

Adam is more expensive than Cosmika. The Devastation sets could well set you back 20 million each, so get fighting some magical enemies from early on!
The Psi Defence they provide will be a godsend in the Rikti War Zone, as it works against the sleep attacks that Mentallists use. Other sleep attacks (Fungoid spores, Freak Tesla Cages) typically come under Ranged attacks, and so are defended against that way.

In this case, Force Bubble is used to keep foes out of melee range, rather than Hover. This wont be used all the time, due to the short range attacks like Cosmic Burst and Irradiate, hence the lack of END Reduction used here.
Ive used Teleport here for concept, Adam Zorn is inherited from another game and always teleported.
Switching to Hover and Fly would not only make Force Bubble less essential (opening up room for Proton Volley or Aim perhaps) but add 2.5% to the Defence figures above, pretty much capping his Ranged and Psi defence.

Atomic Blast could also be dropped in favour of a more regularly used attack - the END crash could be a problem with this build.

Out of the 3 Ranged attacks, Thunderstrike goes in Cosmic Burst because its the least used attack, and therefore makes less use of the Hold Proc, and Thunderstrike gives a better Recharge bonus so that your best attack is up more often.

In the 40's Adam could pick up an armor to stack with Tough. Power Build Up would of course double the defence of his bubbles, effectively capping his own Defence to everything for 15 seconds when used. Medicine would add to his survivability considerably and aid team support, and the chance of being interrupted is reasonably slim with all that Defence. Manouvres would also make sense, capping his defence against Psi and Ranged attacks completely.

The high accuracy and Def Debuff of Rad does seem to complement Dark very nicely, and wins points over D3 for originality.

But...
The To Hit Debuff of /Dark really comes into its own when stacked with that of Dark/ against higher level enemies.

AoE wise, in the Dark corner we have an Immobilise cone that lines up really well with Fearsome Stare.
In the Light corner we have a 25% Knockback cone.

Rad is somehow dissapointing visually, X-Ray Eyes never looks as cool as it sounds, and Neutron Bomb is a bit off with its beachball tossing animation.

Dark gets the awesome visuals of NightFall, a single blast for every target in the cone.

Im going Dark again.

Dark/Dark 1
Dark/Rad 3

My first defender to get off the ground was a Dark/Dark, currently level 30.

Rad has always bugged me because the grab-bag of powers have next to nothing to do with radiation, yet half the Rads I see have big nuclear logos plastered all over them.

Sonic's great for the first few levels, but I really can't stand the sound the attacks make.

So call me sensitive, whiny and emo, but I choose D3

Dark/Dark: 4
Rad/Sonic: 1

It reminds me of comic moments like:

"Everybody hates me because all I can do is turn into a mountain"

"Im no use to my teammates because Im just an acrobatic dwarf"

Devouring Earth Quartz emanators, dropped by Guardians, give all nearby Devouring Earth a +100% to Hit.

In other words they neutralise the entire SR secondary, including Elude!

So always always take out the Guardians first, preferably starting with cobra Strike before they can drop a Quartz.

Agreed. Ive been running a bunch of Sky Raider missions with my Dark Defender - I always identify the engineers and teleport them out first, quickly hit them with a DoT, and consequently havent spent any time whiffing against a Force Field generator.

It really is an awesome power for unravelling those "jigsaw puzzles" some enemy groups present.