Jibikao

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Oh yeah, it's one of those 5-target melee cones.

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Oh..interesting. I thought the claw change is for both scrapper and stalker. I guess only stalker's Eviscerate is ST. It does pretty good dmg with pretty low recharge rate (but pretty long activation!).

Scrapper's Eviscerate is still AoE cone? Stalker's is ST.

So I tried the same Gravity/Psi Assault AV at relentless again using Fortunata and Night Widow.

I believe this AV is coded to RUN so much. She flies and runs around like she is trying to "lure" me or something. Is this something new to certain type of AV (Dominator?).

My Fortunata spent 20mins fighting and then eventually I ran out of endurance. I took her down to about 15% of health.

My Night Widow spent a lot of time chasing her. I don't have -fly so it gets annoying when she flies high but NW's ST damage is a lot higher. I took her down to about 15% and then god-mode crashed. I used god mode too early. I believe my NW can take her down if I have better god-mode usage. Maybe Poison Dart's 25% -regen stack??


Anyway, I didn't bother using my Merc/Storm again. It's too much stress on me. Oh and I do have aoe immb but I can't immb most of the time. She just runs so much.

Gravity/Psi is like a total counter to my Merc/Storm though. I have 4 pet uniques so if the AV does energy, smashing or lethal, my pet's resistance are at least 50%+. And if AV does Fire and Cold, my pets have about 30%. And I have no mez protection so I have to sacrifice slots for BFs.

Hero Builder doesn't show Dark Servant taking Recharge Intensive Pet sets. Not many pets can take this. The only secondary under MM that can take both Pet and Recharge Intensive Pet is /Storm's Tornado.

I don't even think MM's primary pets can take RIP??

Electricity Melee is good in pvp now??

Or Energy melee you mean?

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The Bane does more damage in melee not just because of Hide + Build Up, but because the mace attacks do higher base damage. If you were opening with Build Up - Venom Grenade I can see how you would be disappointed with a Bane. If it's a target that I absolutely want to punish I'll Surveillance - Build Up - Shatter. Most of the time vs large spawns of minions Build Up - Crowd Control is just fine. I didn't keep VG on my Bane, and I still don't miss it. I love it on my range build though. If melee Crab is your bag then more power to you. However, building a melee Crab does nothing to offer suggestions to buff Banes which is the original purpose of the thread.

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I don't agree.

By making a melee Crab, I realize how weaker Bane is. It is all by comparison. Bane VS Fortunata, Bane VS NW, etc. Bane is really not "unplayable". Bane is fine but just not as good.

Yes, I do know Bane's mace attacks hit harder. As I've explained before, Bane's activation is slow especially if you try to throw in other attacks that cause weapon redraw.

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Cobra Strike. I personally, don't find the stun that useful. If it was turned into a real high damage punch, with a chance to stun, id pick it up in no time (MA could use a real punch attack).


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Yeah, Cobra is the only punch. It would be nice if it can do a bit more damage. It doesn't have to be Clobber-good but at least Tier 1 or 2 damage scale.

Cobra does 17 damage at lvl 50...

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Siphon Life is less a mitigation power and more of an attack with slight mitigation potential attacked to it. It's an attack that has a tad bit of a heal attached (it really isn't all that impressive, honestly).

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I have to disagree with you here. Siphon Life's heal is incredibly powerful, on part with Reconstruction over time (or stronger depending on how much recharge you have). Firing Reconstruction every 30s is roughly 1.667 base hp%/sec. Siphon Life (slotted as a heal) equals that when being used every 12s (zero recharge). Reconstruction every 20 seconds is 2.5% base hp/sec, which SL equals being used every 8s (so 6s rech or roughly 66% enhancement).

That's not as impressive on, say a Regen, but on a set with a lot of proactive mitigation (Invuln)? That's huge.

Yeah, I know, that's when slotted as a heal rather than an attack, but I don't think it's minor at all. Besides, if you frankenslot just for raw enhancement, you can get a hefty amount of both.


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unless you wanted to saddle yourself with Shadow Maul

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I'm... not going there... :P

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And yeah, doesn't Siphon Life do very decent damage now?? I tested it with my lvl 42 Dark/Elec Brute and the damage is quite impressive so SF is not just a "heal". It does more damage than 2nd tier attack.

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Just seems that way....

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It was super busy before with all those Stalker Needs Buff threads. Now that Stalker got what they need, nobody cares anymore... lol


You want activities? Go check out Dominator thread!

PS: Speaking about which, I guess if we voice our concern loud enough, we do get dev's attention!

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Anyone know when they removed smash resist from Necro pets? I just npoticed when I clicked info on the Zombies and GN there is nothing listed for it. Typo?

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I haven't checked in-game values but I think zombies have some smashing but grave knight doesn't. And both of them don't have lethal resistance!

It's by Design.

Mobs run a lot now. You can try to control them (I guess you can invite a Dominator!) or just watch where your pets are going.

Mobs run even worse with anchors on them so make sure where your Darkest Night anchors are.

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What are the pros and the cons of the two? what one is good at PvP and what is good at PvE? you said fort was all alround good so is that the way to go? and on Mids it seemed like wido had high ST dmg with slash hittin for abut 500 so whats good could i PvP with a widow?

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Widow does the most damage of the 4 branches. Bane hits hard but slow. Crab has good damage especially in aoe.

Fortunata doesn't do the most damage but she is extremely versatile.

If you want to pvp, I would go with Fort only because range is always better in pvp. If you want to take NW to pvp, take Spirit Shark from patron. I heard that power does amazing damage in PvP (due to long activation?). NW's problem in pvp is she has bad reach. She has no -movement except for the slow from claws but you have to hit first to cause that.

If you are fighting melee, NW may be good.

I am not a pvp expert but I've seen more Fort than NW in pvp.

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After trying out my new semi-melee Crab, I think Bane needs a buff.

They can start by reducing the # of weapon redraws and some activation.

but my Crab can hit twice as fast and deal more damage in the long run.

Yes, Bane does a bit more damage than my Crab
My Crab also has much superior resistance/+HP to stay in melee.

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Trying to really figure out the bold part, when Bash from hide does more damage than any regular Crab power. Or outside of Hide Pulverize and Crowd Control. So as far as melee damage goes I wouldn't even try to compare a Crab to a Bane. Also Banes get build up


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Except that the battle does not end after the First Strike.

I used to be like you. I thought there is no way Crab can deal more damage at melee range (which includes range attacks as well) but after trying out more last night, I just confirmed my feelings.

I don't have hard math to back it up but if any of you who are interested in semi-melee crab (I use semi-melee because you can still use range at melee range which can be an advantage too), go ahead. You shouldn't be disappointed.


Yes, on paper, Bane does more damage at melee range due to Hide and Build Up but that's also what is holding Bane back IMO. Crab's gameplay is not tied to "hidden". You can open the battle with Venom, jump in, Slice/Longfang/Arm Lash and then hit Frenzy before Aim ends (or, Venom, jump in, Frenzy and Frag Grenade).

Yes, I know you are going to say Bane has Venom too. Believe me, my Bane has both Survilence and Venom and I find the weapon draw slowing me down all the time. I usually start with Build Up Shatter/CC and then Shatter/CC and then Pulerize and if I hit Venom (I wait for another 0.8 some second) and if I use mace attack after that, I wait another 0.5-0.8 second to draw the mace out.


I find Crab's attacks are much more smooth. I don't feel my Crab is doing less damage than Bane. My bro and I were both Bane (we both have Assault and Maneuver) and then we both switched to semi-melee Crab build and we like the Crab build more. We think we kill faster especially on a large team. We both open the battle with Aim + Venom Grenade and then jump in for aoe.

With Bane, you can start with Build Up + Venom but you lose Hidden. So you gotta pick one style or another.

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Hi all, I'm a CoH/CoV newbie. I just upgraded to a full account, and I fell in love with my Dominator because I love crowd control. I know that Controllers are the CC experts Hero-side, but I'm not sure if playing a Controller would be too much like playing my Dominator.

Would I be find rolling a Controller or should I try a different AT that has some CC aspects? Thanks

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In terms of gameplay, Dominator is closer to Blaster than to Troller.

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Because that's what I fully expect you to do...

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I don't know you. You don't know me. I'm going to give you a huge benefit of the doubt that you have me confused with someone else and you're not just spewing a paranoid rant or trolling me outright.

Empathy is in fact a horrible set for newbies. It's a poor buff/debuff set, desirable over other buff/debuff sets only in particular situations such as Hamidon raids and empath duos. It puts the most situational powers at low levels, encouraging poor playstyles. It doesn't teach newbies anything about NPCs, except maybe which enemies are mezzers, big damage dealers, and end drainers if they're playing very close attention. Except that usually doesn't happen, because empathy encourages players to not pay attention to anyone but their teammates.

So I wouldn't say the fact that newbies like Empathy is a reason to give it any sort of positive recognition. Quite the opposite.

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I agree. In fact, Empathy "breeds" "newbies" because they thought all they need to do is to "heal". They thought they are so good because people ask for "healers" and that's where problems occur...

Empathy actually requires a lot of clicking to be effective. By clicking your teammates, you may lose track of which enemy to take down first. Sometimes it is safer for the team to take down something quicker and this is when Defender's Secondary comes in!

I think /Dark is a good set for newbie players. They'll learn their lessons leveling up. Starting with how anchor works, how to drop Tar Patch out of sight, how to utilize Fear's cone and how to join melee range to heal without fear of dying in melee range. And in the end, hopefully they'll learn that it is better to control/debuff/buff than trying to out-heal the damage taken.

Sitting on the back and setting Heal on auto doesn't teach much especially if the player rarely attacks.

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Well, if your goal is to beat AV/Hero, then Blaster may not be a good choice 'cause you deal zero dps when you die quicker.

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I'm too tired to look for it, but there was a forumite who solo'd several AV's. Last month? 2 months ago?

Kranik solo'd the ITF

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Nice!

But I still won't choose Blaster as a good AV soloer build.

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I've been looking at making a build with high dps, so i'll either be building a scrapper or a stalker.

I looked at the thread with the AV soloing db/inv. scrapper, and that's insane.

That's just one build that i was NOT expecting to be BA.

I'm not sure on stalkers, though.

If you have a build other than scrapper/stalker that has insane dps, please share.

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Well, if your goal is to beat AV/Hero, then Blaster may not be a good choice 'cause you deal zero dps when you die quicker.

For Stalker, it's definitely Dark Melee with the best ST damage and utilities but you lack aoe damage. Energy Melee still has good dmg but kinda slow. Dual Blade actually has good damage too and Stalker can chain Attack Vital very easily.



PS: Has anyone tested Night Widow's DPS with double assault? I have a feeling she is quite high too.

I actually think it's better for the game is sets are LESS standardized. It gives people more reason to pick certain sets.

Instead of comparing tier 1 to tier 1 power, it is more interesting to compare set 1 vs set 2. Some sets can have sucky tier 1 and tier 2 attacks but tier 3 is really good (ex: Cosmic Burst!).

Don't forget Claw doesn't have Build Up so your burst damage is less. Follow Up can be an advantage and a disadvantage too.

I think Claw is a great set. It's probably my most favorite Stalker set so far. I love the knockdown from Focus and now Eviscerate does good damage too.

And don't forget lethal resistance. It does get really annoying when you fight Longbows, Malta and any robots.

Giving you a whole build can be too confusing. I'll just share my thoughts. These are the powers you DO NOT want to skip:

1. Combat Defensive
2. Tactical Training: Maneuver
3. Mind Link
4. Foresight
5. Indomitable Will

For Night Widow-specific:
1. Slash is very good for battle opener if you take Hide. I have a weird build that I don't use Hide and Build Up. It's more of a Blood Widow build and I skipped Slash. I would say most Night Widows should take Slash.
2. Lunge: Fort can take this too but it causes weapon redraw. Lunge is lightning quick with good damage.


For Fortunata:
1. Dominate: This is a hold power that does decent damage. Fort's best move.
2. Psychic Wail: A mini-nuke with no endurance crash. You can use it as an aoe control power too since it has good stuns.
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So basically, just don't skip the powers I listed and then you can just add your "flavors" into your build.

Some powers are very good like Aim and Build Up. I don't think you need me to tell you that.

I know you said you like Widow more. You can easily turn your Fortunata into some melee too. You are not just limited to "claw attacks" if you know what I mean.

I would say Fortunata is the most versatile of the 4 branches. You can do so much with Fort and each build doesn't seem "gimpy".

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They really arent that bad. Especially in pairs.

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This I can agree with you. I've always thought SoA excels in "teams", not soloing.

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I haven't seen anyone playing a MA Scrapper?

Is this power useless now? Can anyone give me pros/cons?

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I rarely see MA Stalker as well. Here is what I think is wrong with MA.

1. MA is not a master of anything. For Stalker, both Energy Melee and Dark Melee have higher dps than MA. There is no aoe attack in all 3 sets (well, Dark Melee has a small cone). This means MA needs to offer something more to attract...

2. MA's damage isn't superior to other ST-oriented set so it needs to offer better secondary effect. For Dark Melee, you can stack tohit debuff to stack with your defensive second. For Energy, you can stack a lot of stuns for extra safety.

MA has some stun and some knockback. It is hard to maximize anything with MA and this is my #1 complaint.

3. All Smashing damage. This one isn't that important to me but Dark and Energy have an advantage for having dual.
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MA really only has style. The first two kicks are very fast but that's about it. Some people really hate Crane Kick because the knockback is strong. Eagle Claw also takes a long time too.


One buff I've been thinking is giving Eagle Claw a 15' range. I got this idea from Bane's Shatter which has 10' reach but only single target. Eagle Claw will be a real flying kick. I can see this being somewhat useful in PvP.

I am speaking specifically from Stalker's point of view. If I only want to excel in single-target damage, why would I pick MA when I have Dark Melee and Energy Melee to choose from? Hell, even Claw's dps has gone up too.

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Castle has stated that the damage buff was only one of the upcoming changes.

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I am ready for Dominator Invasion in I15!!! Much like what Castle did to Stalker. I see Stalkers everywhere now!

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Seriously. I like all of /elec except that freaking joke of a T9. What a terrible power. No matter how hard I tried to like it on my defender, it just was.not.good.

Anyway, I rolled up a plant/elec in anticipation of the incoming dom buffs. Got to level 8 and I'm gonna park him until they come through. It seems like /Elec is going to be quite the [censored] kicker with so much more damage. Seeds of confusion feels like cheating.

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Like you said, the rest of the set is very good. The good news is you don't have to wait until lvl 38 to feel powerful, unlike Psionic Assault.

I would still take VS. The new Pet Recharge set makes it worth it just for the set bonus.

After trying out my new semi-melee Crab, I think Bane needs a buff.

They can start by reducing the # of weapon redraws and some activation.

Yes, Bane does a bit more damage than my Crab but my Crab can hit twice as fast and deal more damage in the long run.

My Crab also has much superior resistance/+HP to stay in melee.

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IIRC the snow storm, tornado, and freezing rain powers generate some degree of "flee" mechanic as well... though I'm pretty sure EBs and above resist those flee effects.

I dunno what to say, really. That set up is big bane for you. I'd recommend coming with BreakFrees, some other inspirations, and just being persistent.

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I've tried several times already. I can't beat her when she runs around like that. She is not just running a bit... she literally runs from one room to another room and then if I chase her, she comes back to hit me. If I run to lure her to me, she snipes me which hurts A LOT.

I've tried it without snow storm, she flies in the air (which may not be a bad thing now that I think about it)

If I don't use freezing rain, I lose a lot of dmg output.

When she runs, it ruins my formation. If I don't follow, she regens back too quick.

I just can't deal with /psi dmg against my merc/storm I guess. I mean I can deal with /psi against normal mobs but not soloing an AV that does nothing but psi dmg (oh and her Singularity is annoying too but I usually kill it first).


I just wanted to know if Bruiser can generate taunt and maybe that's why when my friend's Thug/FF fought her, she didn't run. It coudl also be freezing rain causing trouble or snow storm or both.