GreenBone

Thanks all for the input. I've played ice/, /ice and /cold on MANY of my characters, and don't dig the setup time and "planted" elements of /devices (though my AR/Dev is a solid soloer), so prior to hearing some of this latest feedback, already selected an Arch/MM build and so far am really enjoying it. The Telekinetic Thrust is a lifesaver so far, and I have experienced tough fights in the higher levels with Werewolves, who do seem affected by Fears, so expect Scare will come in handy in those situations.

I know it may sound silly, but I'm choosing to build this Blaster for survivability and less of an AOE focus until later levels when she has some mitigation to survive the aggro of multiple enemies. So for now, am foregoing Fistful of Arrows and Psychic Scream. If they had secondary effects that would help mitigate return fire, I might take them earlier.

I'm at 10 now, so any recommendations for how to build the most survivable build would be good. I'll be getting Aid Self in the build, but probably foregoing Hover and Combat Jump because of their very small DEF bonuses. Though taking Hover just for those times where I need to stay above the battlefield or can't get elevation with Ninja Run alone may be a good choice.

I'll be looking for Regen accolades and IO sets along the way, but I guess my outstanding question is regarding whether or not there are ways to build DEF and/or RES that will make a difference in survivability in later levels.

I appreciate the input.

Thank you. So from 40 on, would you say Mental beats Ice against tough guys? Or the other way around?

I cannot get a Blaster into high levels and enjoy constant faceplanting against tough enemies. I give up and start playing my Scrappers again to give me the illusion I can still play the game halfway well.

But I want to try again with an Archery Blaster. However, I want to be able to survive higher levels and am therefore looking for the "safest" secondary to pair with it. My choices so far are these in this order:

1) Mental
2) Ice
3) Devices (have an AR/Dev already)

Thoughts?

Thank you!

I'm amazed I haven't seen Bonfire, unless I missed it. Crank up the recharge and create a virtual pinball machine to lure baddies into. It's great fun predicting bounceback trajectories and creating a field of inescapable bouncing DOOM!

Good point on the IOs. I would like my build to not depend on IOs, but you've made me rethink. Question though is whether the fire attacks are worth the trade-off. Sounds like if I could work in IOs, you might recommend Blaze.

So overnight, it seems, my Spines/Fire went from being a weak, albeit AOE, minion muncher to a really terrific all-around AOE muncher. However, as I add more toggles, even Stamina isn't keeping up with my endurance issues. As I approach 41 (only 23 now), I was planning on taking Blaze Mastery so that the Fiery Embrace from my secondary could rock the fire damage on the new fire attacks from the APP. But I'm beginning to think that by the time I reach 41, there will be no way, even with END reducers in most powers (which I HATE having to slot), that I'll be able to constantly run with all my toys. This would lead me to take Body Mastery as my APP which has two endurance reducing powers in it, and should allow me to spam my pointy flaming goodness with fewer issues.

So has anyone reached the point where they have tried these options, and/or has anyone done the math? Does FE boost Blaze so much that I am immolating mobs so fast that the end I use doesn't really matter? Or is it the more prudent route to take Body Mastery, and maybe be even to drop a few end reducers out of powers in favor for an additional damage or recharge?

I appreciate your thoughts.

I guess I hadn't thought through the lack of defense/resistance all that well before picking the combination. I just trust that the Devs have factored in as much balance as possible by being able to damage faster than other sets. You don't need to defend yourself against an arrested enemy.

But brings up a good follow-on question. What do I take to maximize survivability? I'm taking the Fighting Pool for the first time on any toon, but what else?

Thank you.

So this is why Rise of the Phoenix is part of my attack chain?

Yeah, I agree with the resistance question. I also have another point of view after playing most every form of scrapper: my BS/SR is a single target beast dishing out massive amounts of damage. But my Spines/Fire is a minion melter that ticks away health on large numbers. There's a question of overkill. In otherwords, how much do you really need to apply to take out an enemy, versus the longer recharge and animation times of higher hitting attacks. If I were to say "go" on a 20 person spawn, for example, for both of the aforementioned toons, there's no doubt my scrapper who shows up at the bottom of the pile in this study would probably blaze through that spawn in less than half the time of my indestructible single target master.

Though these calculations are interesting, I find the game is so varied that I don't feel so bad about playing any scrapper, regardless of these calculations.

And Brutes, in my experience, are just a pain to maintain Fury if your team doesn't want to, or can't, move at your pace.

Happy scrapping.

Hi all. I started a Spines/Fire scrapper, and I must first say that it's been my most fun, most versatile, and fastest advancing toon ever from 1-22 this weekend. There's not a whole lot more giggle-worthy in the game than jumping into the middle of a spawn and melting minions in a couple spine bursts while you work away on the tougher boss.

But I was street sweeping last night and decided to test my toon. I saw a red and two orange Tsoo together in Talos, and couldn't take them out. I tried repeatedly on different spawns hoping this was just bad luck, but repeatedly was disappointed and had to flee.

The problem is, of my 35 toons, I can't think of a single other toon that would have had this trouble. I wasn't missing, I have a damage enhancements in a couple powers, but just couldn't outlast these guys.

So is a Spines/Fire cursed with the lower level minion-melter moniker, while other toons are better equipped for taking out tougher enemies? Was it just that I was fighting Tsoo who may be highly lethal resistant? (don't know)

And ultimately, is it just the fact that I'm level 22 and my more ST target powers are yet to come? Has anyone been able to form a ST attack chain that can take out heavier enemies?

Thank you.

I love the journal. It seems we are pacing along nearly equally with our Grav/Earth Doms, though I believe I've made some great choices along the way, and have kept my Desert Fury toon rolling nicely. You're a bit ahead of me right now - I just dinged 24 and am picking up Power Boost, though for the life of me can't figure out what will be boosted, or why I even want to pick it up. But nothing else sounds remotely correct to choose at this point otherwise. Any thoughts on Power Boost?

I'm used to the constant target switching, and I agree with the melee awesomeness - I took Air Superiority as yet another mitigating close-range attack - but the one thing I can't abide in the build is the inability to use Stone Spears while in the air. Ah well.

Here's what I've picked up on my way, and am quite happy with. Though I have no idea what I'll pick up next. I was going to stay away from Wormhole, but maybe an AOE stun (which now has the advantage of Power Boost), is a better way of thinking of the power.

Keep up the good work. I've made it to 50 on other Doms, but the awesomeness of SMASH despite the build's quirks is grinworthy enough to keep me rolling on this toon. That, and I love the concept.

Cheers.

01: Stone Spears
01: Lift
02: Gravity Distortion
04: Stone Mallet
06: Tremor
08: Swift
10: Air Superiority
12: Hasten
14: Health
16: Fly
18: Gravity Distortion Field
20: Stamina
22: Heavy Mallet
24: Power Boost

I second the Plant/Storm Controller (Eerie Gator). My most fun 1-50 character to date, with fantastic AOE lock-down and DOT, with bursts from multiple lightning clouds. Great fun.

Now you have me intrigued, as I have a new /Ela Crapper.

How does one build for maximum Defense?

Are Masterminds out of consideration? I consider them AOE and survivable for their entire careers.

Thank you. I also liked the idea that through /Ela I got a second form of damage in Energy, whereas I'm stuck with my Lethal from Claws otherwise. I know it probably isn't much with /Ela, but suppose every bit will help.

Good input here. What are the highest level regular mobs that give us the most trouble? Maybe Council, Nemesis, Malta and Crey? In that case, if I'm understanding correctly, it sounds like /Ela is the better choice. Thoughts?

So I gave up on my Claws/Elec Brute. Call me lazy, but I can't handle being the tank, trying to build Fury with other Brutes on the team stealing my opportunities, trying to maintain Fury by rushing from group to group even when the team's not ready, etc. I ported my Claws/Elec to a Scrapper, and already it feels much better.

But I wrestled with making this concept a /WP before taking /Elec originally, and now reading the forums, it seems like /Elec is more of a style that will take more damage (lower defenses, etc) and be able to click his way back to survival, versus the /WP fire-and-forget, better survival out of the box and fewer clicks.

What are your opinions of Claws/Elec and Claws/WP and why I should choose one over the other and/or your experiences with both?

My priorities:
I like taking on AOE situations and surviving - ST strength is secondary for me.
I don't mind early-game trouble if one or the other becomes better late-game.
I tend to prefer DEF to RES for survivability, but can be convinced otherwise.
I liked the Quickness option in /Elec - is there any way to accomplish with /WP+pools?

Thank you.

Love it! Scared the crap out of me as a kid, and has always stuck with me.

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 really enjoy the customization to make the powers look more like they're coming from the character, match with the costume if that makes sense, etc. But I also ran into the ability to use Power Customization to tell a progressive story with my character, and I'm wondering if anyone else is doing so. Let me explain...

My Mind/Cold character is ElfKing (ErlKing from the famous poem was taken, but Elf is the translation of Erl). Backstory is that he was captured in a PPD sweep of Perez Park, and scientists nano-shackled him (there are also physical shackles in place from PPD) to use him as an experimental crimefighter. As you can imagine, the use of his powers for fighting crime will eventually break down the nanoshackles, and in later levels he will break free and return to his evil splendor. You'll notice his powers, that in the early levels now are whitish and green (for his inherent elfy mind control) and standard icy cold powers will gradually introduce more colors like bits of red and orange as his inner conflict ensues into his later stages. If timed right, these later powers will be most active at the time Going Rogue is released, and ElfKing will, well, break free of all hero shackles and return to the villainous side. Oh, and his Patron Pool powers will of course be all Fire related as he unleashes holy hell on his previous captors.

I'm very excited by this concept, and despite so many peoples' obsession with min-maxing, including my own sometimes, I find that a great concept and story makes playing any character SOOOO much more enjoyable.

Thank you for reading.

HotorNot is my Ice/Thermal, and I really enjoy the combo. Of course, I haven't found a control set I don't like. Ice feels very safe with Ice Slick and Glacier, and I'm most looking forward to making Jack an unstoppable beast with Thermal's buffs. So I guess my being active will mean I am fighting by proxy, but for that character, I'm cool with that.

So I came up with a terrific concept for a character, terrific backstory, suited extremely well for "going rogue," and build him last night. I'm typically less interested in the min/max builds, but with Controllers have found Containment is always a priority to best effect damage.

So I guess I'm seeking advice for how to prioritize:

1) Containment
2) Damage
3) Non-aggro controls (since Mass Hypnosis is one?)
4) Holds (I'm not a fan of immobs so much)

I'm also a bit bummed I wasn't able to fit Aid Other and Aid Self in here, so if you have suggestions, and believe there are skippable powers to accomplish this, assuming you think it's as important, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

+----------------------------------------------------------------
+ Built with SuckerPunch's Online Planner v5.0
+ http://planner.cohtitan.com/planner
+----------------------------------------------------------------
Archetype: Controller
Primary: Mind Control
Secondary: Cold Domination
+----------------------------------------------------------------

01: Infrigidate => Empty(1)
01: Mesmerize => Empty(1)
02: Dominate => Empty(2)
04: Levitate => Empty(4)
06: Confuse => Empty(6)
08: Swift => Empty(8)
10: Air Superiority => Empty(10)
12: Ice Shield => Empty(12)
14: Health => Empty(14)
16: Fly => Empty(16)
18: Mass Hypnosis => Empty(18)
20: Stamina => Empty(20)
22: Total Domination => Empty(22)
24: Glacial Shield => Empty(24)
26: Terrify => Empty(26)
28: Benumb => Empty(28)
30: Arctic Fog => Empty(30)
32: Hasten => Empty(32)
35: Sleet => Empty(35)
38: Heat Loss => Empty(38)

+----------------------------------------------------------------

As always, I appreciate the advice. So far, using Mind/ has been a real pleasure and I'm enjoying it thoroughly!

Yeah, Tab cycles through targets. I don't know which one it starts with. CTRL-Tab selects closest target, though sometimes CTRL accidentally selects your power to auto-fire. I don't know the "farthest target" one, but doesn't sound terribly useful unless positioning for cones.

I extensively use positioning myself correctly, followed by CTRL-Tab. If I'm trying to target a boss, I Tab quickly, unless there's a huge group and clicking on him is a better option.

But I'm not targeting expert. I wish I was better. Maybe others have good methods I don't know of.

Good advice, and I agree. Thank you. Regularly playing Controllers makes me very used to switching targets. In fact, I'm amazed at how such a simple concept escapes most players, and how much better and more survivable teams would be if more people did just that. You know, help the team.