Jibikao
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Posts
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Joined
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I'll edited this out myself then.
If you have VIP beta access, go read it. There are quite a bit of changes. I actually didn't know they were going to do all those before issue 21. -
Nope, they still haven't fixed. Just went to test server last night to confirm.
Blaze Mastery's fireball still critical 100% of the time while Weapon Mastery cannot critical at all. -
Quote:It's about time Stalker gets one "broken" set combination! I'll vote for this. :POriginally Posted by BrandX
How does giving Stalkers the ability to...
Shield Charge -> Lightning Rod -> Assassin Strike all from Hide, make any sense?
If the dev have no problem with Fire/Kin and SS/Fiery, then I can't see why Elec/Shield Stalker is going to be that broken.
1. Shield Charge and Lightning Rod can't critical.
2. Stalker's build up isn't as strong as Scrappers'.
3. Lightning Rod > Assassin Strike only works well if you are soloing and all surrounding mobs are knocked down. If not, it's better to just follow up with Thunder Strike or a patron aoe. -
Quote:You don't think SS/Fire and Elec/Shield are silly enough? I do.Originally Posted by Leo_G
Don't be silly. That would just make AS aanother cheap DPS tool. All you'd have to do then is get down it's endurance costs then max out on recharge to pump it out as often as possible (i.e. button mash)
Yeah, Fiery Aura isn't the best "tanking" secondary but it sure seems a well built SS/Fiery is more sturdy than a Stalker.
So a Brute can live better with Fiery Aura and set bonuses but also does way more damage than any Stalker combination. That's what you call it "balance" right?
It is true not all Brute cominbations are broken. My highest level Brute is Dark/EA. -
Has anyone got into beta today? What is Venom Gas like?
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On a side note, for those of you who haven't decided which Lore pet to get, give Vanguard a try.
Vanguard is not that popular but Vanguard's design actually fits MM's need. Sorcerer is the only pet in this game that I can honestly say she does not run in. I've done so many trials with her and she has never ran close to the AV and died. Not even once. She draws her staff and just blast away and she has a self heal. Her st damage isn't the top but she is extremely safe.
The support pet has Assault leadership that benefits all (since you don't need the +damage that much) and has Twlight Grasp for aoe healing.
If you don't want the support pet like I do, the other pet has Lethal -resistance. So if you are Thug or Merc, that should improve dps even more as a group. -
Quote:A little while ago I did some simple test on how the lieuts perform against Dummy in RWZ. Enforcers use a lot of attacks during 2mins frame and half of it is aoe cone damage! I didn't test Robot (because I don't have one higher than lvl 32) but I am pretty confident that Protector Robot does a bit less single target damage than Spec-Ops (but Protector Robot has one aoe attack) before resistance is taken into consideration.Originally Posted by Paladiamors
Question. I know for robots that damage spike is mainly in groups from burn patches, but is that what bumps Thugs up too, since the Arsonist has a smaller version of it? Or is it just that stacking leadership brings them up past most everyone else?
I was mainly testing Enforcers, Grave Knights and Jounins. Grave Knight has the highest potential for ST dps. It really depends on how many Headsplitter and Disem they use. Jounins have the biggest gap in terms of dps because Jounins' range dps suck hard. This is one of the reasons why I didn't give Ninja as the highest damage MM because sometimes your Jounins are not in melee range.
Back to Enforcers. I've had a Thug/Trap before. I know people complain about Arsonist all the time but I actually feel sometimes his bomb "scatters" the mob too much. If I don't have any aoe immb or slow, I don't like to scatter the mob. The other two minions do good damage too. And Bruiser' AI has improved and handclap no longer knocks back (it knocks down instead).
For consistent high dps, I would give Thug and Demon the edge. Demon has exotic damage types and they have -resistance.
Robot does well because SURVIVAL DOES MATTER and it matters a lot. :P Robots are all range (even though some of them run in. Well all pets run in now anyway), with knock backs and they have good defense and have good resistance type (lethal and psionic) and I believe Assault Robot has one nasty -regen which is very useful against AVs. Ninja has the worst damage vs survival ratio.
I would rank:
Thug = Demon > Ninja > Robot > Necro (lack of good aoe damage) > Merc (doesn't excel in any category really)
If you are fighting something that doesn't move much, then Ninja will definitely have the highest dps potential especially in trials. As squishy as Genins are, they actually produce the most damage as a "group", more than two Jounins. In trials, they have level shifts that are equal to your level. You want to put smoke flash on Genins because they use the most attacks and they are extremely aggressive. -
Quote:They just can't give anything good to stalker, can they?Originally Posted by BrandX
One manipulates the electro magnetic spectrum and becomes invisible! Or some such!
Also, why have Shield on Stalkers?
It's real benefit is Shield Charge, and that's likely the power to be gotten rid of for Hide.
My main point is that they have no problem giving set combinations to other melee dps that are way over the balance point (+4x8 is not a measurement of a successful build IMO. It's a measurement of "broken" builds) but when it comes to Stalker, they would nit pick this and that and take out the good power(s) like Shield Charge if Shield gets ported. Can you imagine the cry if Shield Charge is taken out? I know I will be super pissed.
You have SS/Fire Brute who is doing way too much damage for the survival it sacrifices. It kills so fast that Damage VS Survival ratio with set bonuses seems to be way out of line. And then you have Martial Arts Stalker who sacrifices all AoE damage for ST damage and yet MA Stalker still can't out-damage most Scrapper builds and my MA Stalker still cannot take down pylon without incarnate abilities. -
If the situation is right, Assault Robot's burning missiles can do quite a bit of damage.
But I would say Thug has the highest damage only because of Enforcers.
If survival is not an issue, Thug, Ninja and Demon are all good choices for pure damage. -
Unless they've fixed it, neither attacks under Body and Weapon can critical. I am going to test it again tonight to see if anything has changed.
If you only care about concept, then Weapon is better. You don't need that much -endurance if you have sets. The web grenade is pretty good for grounding flyers. -
Quote:How do you hide with Electricity then? Sure, there is a "Shield" but electricity is bright and can hurt people.Originally Posted by Zem
I don't think they ever said it couldn't work. If I recall right they only denied it on the basis of "concept", which would be fine if they were at all consistent in applying that restriction. They initially denied villains access to Empathy, saying it did not fit the villain concept. Then later they made it so anyone can switch sides and now we can have Empathy villains anyway. Go figure.
People also make jokes about Shield Stalkers hiding behind their shields while not bothering to ask just HOW a regeneration Stalker hides. The answer of course is that though Hide was placed in the secondary, it really has little to DO with the secondary and should have been an inherent all along.
I just don't know why when it comes to Shield and Stalker, they care so much about "theme" all of sudden.
I say they don't want Shield in Stalker because they are afraid that 90% of the people will pick Shield because Shield has Shield Charge and the lack of defense isn't that a big deal on Stalker who naturally doesn't attract that much aggro. Shield set looks very good on paper for Stalker gameplay and they don't want to give Stalker that.
And yet they have no problem allowing Elec/Shield or SS/Shield that maul through mobs like butter. That's where I have problem with dev's decision on how to balance Stalker. It's like they would spend that extra energy to make sure Stalker isn't "overpowering" while letting other melee ATs have ridiculous set combinations that ruin the balance. I just can't believe how high damage /Fiery Armor is now when you have fury and rage.
My only high level Brute is Dark/Energy aura and I enjoy that build but it's far from "overpowering".
PS: If they want separate Empathy VS Pain due to "theme" reason, then maybe Stalker can get another new set that is similar to Shield? Oh wait, that means it would lose money in the future because only one AT can have it. It's not worth the time or effort to just satisfy one AT, whose population is already at the bottom of the barrel. -
I feel Pain Domination's design is more for Mastermind IMO. The aoe healing and world of pain aoe buff helps 6 pets more than helping Corruptor himself. And also, Villains at that time already have SoA providing excellent team defense. What they needed more is aoe resistance buff which is what Pain Domination offers.
I have a lvl 50 Sonic/Pain Corr and a lvl 50 Necro/Pain. I like Necro/Pain's performance better because I sometimes get into "healing lock" on my Corr if the team keeps taking serious damage and I am locked by needing to heal all the time. However, if the team has good +defense, the +resistance is more welcome as World of Pain gives +resistance to all including psionic. The pbaoe resistance debuff is also useful.
Oh, I love it when somebody dies and I rez with Pain. I get faster endurance recovery and recharge. :P
However, Fortitude is one great buff before people have all the set bonuses.
I guess people should compare Controller Empathy VS Corr Pain Domination as the values should be very similar. Defender's version is higher. -
Quote:Before patron aoe comes into the picture, it is pretty annoying when the spawn size is large and you can only kill one at a time. As strange as it sounds, I do like my MA/Will but I am weird in a way that I would find something weak and keep playing it until I find a reason to like it. Hell, the whole Stalker AT gives me that feeling. :POriginally Posted by Aett_Thorn
But that's kinda the problem. My Elec Stalker can choose between focusing on the boss if that's what the team needs, or wiping out the spawn's minions and lieuts. I can do either role, and while I might be better at the AoE than the ST, with AS and my ST attacks, I'm alright at taking out the boss, too. MA doesn't get that versatility. They should take down the boss every time. They have a single role: take down the toughest guy there. When he's dead, find the next toughest guy, etc. I can do the job of the MA guy well enough, but he can't do the AoE thing at all.
The only good thing about MA is you can skip Assassin Strike at high level. Eagle Claw hits hard enough that I rarely use BU + AS unless I feel the setup time is worth it. This is the only positive thing about MA because Eagle Claw hits hard and if I am lucky, I can do double critical after placate. And if I am fighting a boss that I know Assassin Strike won't take more than 50% (ie: all the Clockwork bosses in apex/tin mage), I'll just do Eagle, Cobra to try to stack stuns first so I don't get hit as much.
You are right, there is no reason to create a melee set that only has ST attacks. Design flaw? -
Quote:And Stalker would totally love Shield Charge. :POriginally Posted by Aett_Thorn
The other sets seem like they lose something key in order to gain Hide. I know that there wasn't the tech to turn off damage auras and such before recently, but Willpower I think would have gained from RttC, and Elec Armor could have been decent with Lightning Field, but without them they're only okay.
I still don't buy that Shield set doesn't work well. They only need to change one power and that's it. They did it for Willpower. All the shield-buffs are excellent for Stalker because Stalkers can buff each other before the fight even starts and that Shield Charge will be so good.
The dev just doesn't want Stalker to be overpowering that's all. :P -
What other styles of fighting we haven't seen in this game yet?
The one I can think of is Doggleganger kind of AT. You summon a copy of yourself and you and the clone form combos together. I think it's going to be a mix of melee/defensive secondary with some buffs/debuffs/healing. The buffs/debuffs/healing can only be used when you and your clone do a "synchronize attack".
The inherent is when you are within 60' radius of your clone, both of you get more Resistance/survival. -
Quote:Oh, Mecha EAT! That's cool. I think it's possible because look at the main banner on the website. They took Lord Recluse out and replace it with Clockwork!Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
The hard suit... again, not so much, but it does remind me of a proposal some time ago for a "Mecha EAT." Unfortunately it died in a forum purge long ago...
The "Mecha" theme emphasis is definitely there. -
I am assuming Time may have a lot of +recharge and that won't affect pets.
I can't say for sure. The fact that it has an aoe healing is a GOOD thing. I need to see the buff/debuff values. -
Quote:The problem I have is this "excel". Honestly, Stalker doesn't excel in burst damage. Stalker is very good at it at early levels, but I can find other set combinations that will do similar damage while having no need to "set up".Originally Posted by streetlight
DPS is a measure of how long it takes you to grind down an AV or pylon or whatever and Stalkers aren't designed for that, so they'll always come up short in DPS measures. They're designed for spike damage, the damage that you can deliver in a single click. In that aspect, they excel.
In a way, I think Stalker is "stuck" in this burst damage design and sacrifices other dps potential for it.
The only way Stalker is superior in burst damage is when Assassin Strike has no interruption and comes out under 3s. Now that's a superior burst damage that can be used in every situation and other ATs can't match for it.
With the current setup time, interruption and build up value, Stalker is only at "very good" tier. Superior? Nah.
PS: However, I want to emphasize that Stalker's current damage is "good enough". Anything higher is just overkilling which is pretty much what I see in SS/Fire Brute and other set combinations. lol I saw a +3 SS/Fire in BAF the other day and his burn basically kills all the minions before they even come out and he can finish the lieut with one hit. Having a build that can solo +4x8 is not a "normal" build. It's a build that is already over the balance point. +4x8 is for a team, not for soloing purpose. -
A soldier build is a lot stronger than I thought. Single Shot and Burst are very fast. The bullets hit almost instantly (no traveling time).
I've thought of Soldier/Crab build for more survival but I end up going with Bane because I am mostly hovering in air which already gives me enough survival. I am all range except for one Bayonet which I use to finish off a hard target.
How does Gloom do in your build? Doesn't it cause weapon redraw? You may have a smoother attack chain with just Single Shot? -
Quote:I have not tried melee Fort build because when I level my fort to 50, I was doing it with an old friend and his build was a melee hybrid. I never felt my damage was lower than his 'cause Fort simply has a GREAT range. Fort with double Assault don't need a tier 3 blast like Blaze/Shout that have less range 40'. Fort can safely stay at about 80' (or even longer with Cardiac + range) and just blast.Originally Posted by Deus_Otiosus
I have a dual build NW (melee) / Fort (ranged) - and I have finally given up on the fort half.
The controls are control-lite in my opinion. They are nice, but they are not controller or dominator level of control.
The buffs are excellent, but I can get that from the NW side, or any VEAT build for that matter, the same goes for the survival and mez protection.
Survivability wise, when caught alone I find my NW is actually doing better in trials due to simply killing targets faster.
The only thing that the Fort has that I wish the NW had is Psy Shockwave.
Which is why I will either abandon the Fort build entirely or merge the two into a high end melee Fort build.
My other widow build is actually a Blood Widow build that only uses claw attacks and follow up. Yes, this build has higher damage but she dies easier than my Fort because defense has its limits. When I get hit by two Ritki boss swords (which happened to me once during Master of Lady Grey run!!!), I died in split second. My Fort could safely hover in air and blast Ritki bosses to death because their psionic damage can barely touch me.
Maybe hybrid is the way to go to get the best melee dps and controls but I find my range Fort to be extremely safe and effective. The measurement of effective is maybe where the problem is. I don't find myself doing the best damage but my damage isn't a joke either. Dominate (with smashing proc), Gloom, Subdue and some TK Blast is very fast for range-only attack chain. -
/Fiery
I don't think there is even a contest. /Fiery has fiery embrace and both fire blast and blaze have higher base damage than before.
2nd and 3rd place are debatable. Earth Assault's ST dps isn't that high. It has good burst damage.
I actually think /thorn has good st damage. It is just slow. Those dot damage do add up.
/Energy's ST damage may be a bit less than /Earth but at least it has many range attacks. /Earth only has melee for good dps.
I've always liked Ice Assault though. I love the ice swords.
I don't know the real numbers but if you want me to guess:
#1 Fiery
#2 Electricity (if Volt is hitting the same target)
#3 Earth
#4 Thorn
#5 Energy, Psionic and Icy -
I think using ally's dead body is the only buff I would like to see for WS.
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By the way, WS can't use ally's dead bodies right? Last night I was trying to create a pet out of my friend's dead body but couldn't do it.
A dead body is a dead body. Let WS use it! :P
The reason I am asking this is that I find WS very weak against single AV. If a teammate and MM's pet dies, I can create a pet to help out on dps. -
All forms should be able to use all pool powers. I don't think it's overpowering if Nova/Dwarf can use leaderships. I mean what else can they use? They already put shifting delay which annoys the hell of me.
Warshade can be fun.
Peacebringer is just frustrating. I think being "powerful" is out of question for PB but the design has to be fun, which it fails IMO. All the knockbacks, restriction on what can be used in forms, having aerial combat but can't use solar flare, not being able to drop photon seekers out of sight... etc. The design is there but the restrictions make it un-fun. I can live with underpowered AT (hell, I mostly only play Stalker and have no lvl 50 Brute,Scrapper/Tanker) but it has to be fun and less frustrating. -
I like Dark Blast a lot but I never like Blackstar. Without Aim, I just don't think the damage is worth it. Sure, it debuffs a lot of tohit but so is your Hurrican.
As a Corruptor, I've always hated the endurance crash especially when I don't finish off mobs. Blackstar without Aim is really "meh".
But it's just my opinion. You do put a good set mule into it.