Jibikao
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Posts
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Quote:I mostly play SoA with double maneuver and if I am playing Fort (mind link), she can provide a lot of team defense that doesn't require me to re-buff all the time.Originally Posted by Celestial_Lord
My namesake is a level 50 + 1 Force Field / Dark Blast Defender, which I made primarily for Rikti mothership raids. Now with Issue 20, I just don't see the point in playing him. Between the Barrier and Clarion Destiny buffs, he's essentially useless with nothing to provide level 50 teams. Sure, he can be of some benefit by providing bubbles while exemping for lower level task forces and such, but that's once in a blue moon, and not what he was designed for. I haven't bothered running any Incarnate trials with him, because I just don't see the point. The only thing a Force Field Defender brings to a level 50 team is pitiful Defender damage now.
Am I missing something?
So yeah, I probably will never make a bubbler. I feel the set is too limited especially when set bonuses give many +defense. I don't think Force Field is useless but it has very limit use.
I will always invite a Cold Domination (with +defense shields) over Force Field. And if I want defense, I will always invite a SoA. -
Quote:Well, "useless" means it does nothing. I would use the words "rather weak". For a set like Spines, AS can be useful because Spine's ST damage is low (although you are probably better off using BU + Throw Spines most of the time). For a set like Martial Arts, I think you get better performance by just use all ST attacks (at least you are not tied to interruption and you can switch targets to avoid huge over-kill).Originally Posted by Necrotizing
Great, so the signature power of the Stalker AT is shown to be useless in higher levels? Every time I come to the Stalker boards, it irritates me how gimp Stalkers are. Why is there a Stalker AT again? I don't think the devs even remember such a thing exsists...
Yup, I find Assassin Strike very weak at lvl 50 and it only has very few uses in trials. Those running prisoners are better off with just heavy hits and chasing them.
PS: And it's not like Assassin Strike is a "free" power that Stalker has. It takes away some important AoE attacks and it costs a lot of endurance and it requires slotting. -
Quote:This is very odd because my friend told me his scrapper can critical with Fireball (which is written in the description). I thought Scrapper can't critical with Epic powers? This doesn't sound right because other epic sets can't critical like Throwing Stars.Originally Posted by Microcosm
If it does, it's a bug.
Stalker should score critical with both Epic/Patron. I am not sure if it's just Fireball that is bugged or other Epic sets are "naturally" better so Fireball needs to critical to make up for it. -
Quote:Please no dual pistol mixed in with martial arts. I can't imagine the # of weapon draws... dual pistol has long redraw + animation time.Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
Martial Assault. Combining dual pistols, martial arts and weapon attacks into a single awesome set was the best idea the devs ever had! Oh, right. It doesn't exist. Crap.
Martial Arts + Throwing Stars is GOOD. I want one! -
I have different answers:
For pure "pwn-ness", I say Fire Assault has the best design (especially after Fireblast buff to 8s) because once you hold/control the mobs, why would you need the "side-effects" from the assault powers? So all you need is extra dps and fire assault has better range attacks too.
For "favorite", I am going with Icy Assault and only because I love Ice Swords. I love slashing people with it even though the numbers suggest that the damage isn't that high but that's what Bitter Ice Blast is for. BIB is at least a great range attack. -
Quote:My first Crab build is using Burst from soldier and the rest are crab powers. If you use crab attacks and then use soldier's, you will draw Rifle out but not vice versa. If you use Soldier attack first and then crab, there is no redraw.Originally Posted by Brightwel
I was referring to a build with both crab and solider attacks. It seems to me that that at least some of the first powers powers are pretty much identical stat wise between the two, as well as the frag and venom grenades so I'm curious whether it would make much difference to take either.
Another two question I have: firstly, about redraw on a huntsman/crab, does using crab attacks force you to redraw the rifle for huntsman attacks? And secondly, can a huntsman/crab or even just a full crab play well without pets? Or does it severely hurt them? -
There is such thing as Level Shift Inspirations?? You eat one and you are +1 for 60s? wow?
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Gee, you guys make me want to level a Warshade now. I am really not impressed with Peacebringer (human form) and she is stuck at lvl 32 for good. I deleted PB 4 times during each double exp event and eventually decided to level up to 32 to see Photon Seekers. lol
Well, I don't know why Seekers are on such long recharge. Its damage is ok but to get the most damage, you have to sort of use them in the crowd and of course they cause some massive knockbacks. About the only thing PB excels at is massive knockbacks. -
Quote:Stalker's problem is not just about Blaster doing more damage at melee and range. SoA can easily out damage most Stalkers and so are some trollers and dominators.Originally Posted by PsychicKitty
lol...you are right.
But then why do they do more damage in melee range then a class designed for melee?
Stalker's only design is to deal a bit more burst damage within 10s and can stealth through missions easier. -
Quote:Let the players judge if Illusion doesn't fit. :P Just like give Stalker/Brute Ice Melee and let us decide if it sucks.Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
You know why Illu is so good on controllers? Because they come with buffs and debuffs that make their 2 attacks, their pets, and team more productive. The only meaningful thing a Dom would get out of having a Illu primary is a pocket Tank. Which is good, but a bit outside of what a dominator is supposed to be. They're supposed to be the ones in charge, not sitting back and watching. In fact, i think that's the crux of why Illu hasn't been (or ever will be) ported: Illu plays more like a MASTERMIND set than a dominator one. IIRC, Posi even said that once.
I used to think Illusion may suck on Dominator but I level an Ill/Thermal and I realize that much of the control is from the pets. Well, not really "control" but aggro-grabbing and it's not like Illusion has no single hold. Illusion still has ST Hold and ST Confuse which benefit from Domination.
Dominator playing more like Mastermind? SURE! At least it's a very different gameplay from Mind Control. I see it as a "positive" rather than a negative. -
Quote:Well said. Controllers use immb to get double damage but Dominator won't have that problem. In fact, most of my dominators don't even use immb and aoe immb. They draw a lot of aggro and cost a lot of endurance.Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
This is really not the case. The reason you would want an Illusion Dominator is the same reason you'd want a Dominator of any of the other Controller sets. Dominators and Controllers bear a passing resemblance to each other but in actuality are very different beasts.
Here are the numbers of powers that benefit from Domination on the existing sets after removing the immobilize powers:
[EDIT: Forgot Fire and Grav]
Mind - 8
Earth - 3 (but one is a sleep very few use)
Ice - 3 (but one is a sleep very few use)
Electric - 1.5 (because Synaptic can only dominate the first target)
Plant - 2
Fire - 3
Gravity - 3
Illusion - 3
Now if we want to say that being able to Dominate on an immob you can spam anyway is a critical asset for Dominators, we can do that, but I think most people will disagree. The fact is though that compared to Ice or Electric Control, Illusion has exactly as much meaningful AoE Domination potential (1 power each after removing Ice's LOLSleep), and more single target (2 powers to their one).
Illusion Dominators would be powerful as heck. In fact, outside of AVs, Illusion/Fire would be damn near unkillable and still kill AVs fast enough to be worth the trade off (see: Mind/Fire Dominators). I'm not sure whether its powerful enough to be "overpowered" but I can definitely see why people would want one.
Illusion's weakness (no immb for containment) is a non-issue for Dominator so in a way, Illusion may even more powerful on Dom even if the pets don't benefit from Domination.
Perma Dom is still highly desirable for frequent endurance fuel and mez protection and the single hold can benefit too.
I see Illusion being a very good soloing set much like Illusion/Rad or /cold. -
Quote:You have excellent mez protection, high defense, very good team buffs (damage, defense and tohit) and your damage is above average with a good mix of single, aoe, range and melee attacks available. What else do you need?Originally Posted by Void Spirit
3) Widow/Fortunata;
You can make a Widow and make two builds. Night Widow is just pure DPS like a Claw Scrapper without Shockwave (if you hate the knockback). Fortunata is one of the most flexible AT in the game. You can turn her into a mini Blaster with control (all ranged), turn her into a Claw melee with controls or turn her into mostly controls (which is the least popular route). You can't make a "bad" Fortunata that's put it that way. Bored of one build? Change to another!
As for Warshade, I've come to the conclusion that it takes certain taste to like Kheldian. It is very different from other ATs so if that sounds interesting, feel free to try. I do know that quite a few people don't like Kheldian's design. It has more to do with their design than how "good" they are. It can be the most powerful build but Warshade still does not attract me much. (although I like Warshade's design way better than Peacebringer)
You should put Soldier on the list as well. One build for Bane (Superior Stalker) and one build for mini-Tank with pets and aoe damage! -
Quote:Wow, Mastermind really gets F*** on this one.Originally Posted by Lobster
People should know by now that I love posting data! Gives me some reason for all the meticulous records I keep....
[FONT=Courier New]
PRE PATCH
........C...U...R...VR...TOTAL
CRAB....1...10..6...1....18
CONT....4...10..3...1....18
DOM.....0...9...3...1....13
MM......10..3...0...0....13
SCRAP...0...1...1...0....2
TANK1...3...4...2...1....10
total...18..37..15..4....74
........24%.50%.20%.5%...
POST PATCH
BLAST...2...10..5...2....19
BRUTE...3...5...4...0....12
CONT....0...1...0...0....1
CORR....2...9...2...1....14
MM......3...4...0...0....7
TANK1-B.1...4...0...0....5
TANK2-V.0...2...4...0....6
total...11..35..15..3....64
........17%.55%.23%.5%
My Fortunata has done BAFs many times and I've only got two Common TWICE of like 15 runs. I was begging for common drops 'cause I had too many Uncommon.
Last night I formed BAF and I had two MMs on my team. I got Common. T_T So then I moved one of them to another team and I end up getting Uncommon and Rare.
Why is MM getting less good drops? It doesn't seem fair. -
Quote:Yup so that's why I think if they want to port Illusion to Dominator or Shield to Stalker, they can... they just need to change something. I've played Illusion/Thermal up to 42 and it's the pets that do most of the "control" than the actual control powers. I can't see why it won't work with Dominator. Domination can still improve ST hold, aoe hold, confuse.Originally Posted by Amy_Amp
I haven't played DB on a stalker, but the changes were due to how stalkers are more burst based versus DPS based. To me Kin feels the best on stalkers. Add in the ability to recharge BU and it's one of the best sets for stalkers.
I am still annoyed by the fact that Stalker doesn't get Shield. There is only ONE power that doesn't fit but they did change Willpower for Stalker, didn't they? All the other shield powers are great for Stalker. Shield Charge will be so loved with an AT that lacks AoE damage. And Shield Stalkers can possibly buff each other with Defense before the fight even begins. The only reason Stalker doesn't get Shield is due to "theme" reason and I truly believe it.
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Well, I think some sets are not ported because it could be too powerful. I doubt it's because it's "too weak" because they can always make it "better". It is harder to nerf something when you port a set than to make it better/different. They did change Dual Blade and Kinetic Melee for Stalker (whether it's a nerf is up to debate).
I thought Illusion on Dominator could be too powerful but Illusion Radiation can do a lot of things that Dominator can't.
Ugh, I want Poison set on corruptor so bad. -
Quote:WAIT WHAT???? Where is my Ice Melee Stalker?!!!! I want to try Ice Melee but I hate Tankers so much.Originally Posted by Chyll
Given Posi's recent hint that proliferation is pretty much finished (),
I doubt it much matters.
Ugh!! -
Quote:And I agree with this too! They are worried about giving Stalker more damage when many ATs are out-damaging Stalker easily. One fulcum shift can put Corr/Troller/Defender close or at damage cap and they are worried about speeding up Assassin Strike animation so it can only hit ONE target? lolOriginally Posted by Lucky666
When ever I hear the "to OP for doms" speech about illusion I think about reactive procs in rains, I think about shields and lightning, footstomps and burn patches. I think about people soloing AVs and GMs, people soloing spawns +4/x8 even before incarnate powers and a duo completing a lambda incarnate trial. I think about that mind/fire dom that soloed the LRSF and warwoks that can solo rikti pilon with nothing more then buffs and heals from an emp.
This game anything can be OP with the right build and the right IOs and smart slotting. It doesn't even take a genius and that's why I love it(and the whole super heroes thing XD) Please DEVs hear my plea, Illusion for doms for the people! -
Quote:Well, we'll see. My guts says it's because Illusion on Dominator could be overpowering but who is to say Illusion/Rad isn't too powerful already? :POriginally Posted by DMystic
So does Electric Control but Dominators got that. I think it's more the Devs haven't gotten around to it yet.
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Quote:This is what I think. Illusion does not really need Domination to make it better. All the "gems" are pets that are unkillable and can grab aggro for Dom. Illusion on controller sort of works because the set itself has no immb to set up Containment so naturally it lacks aoe damage.Originally Posted by Nihilii
If it ever happens, I'll probably make my main an Ill/Fire and forget every other character I've ever had.
My opinion is that Illusion (PA specifically) is gamebreaking, and is more or less balanced by having no significant AoE output*, most of its ST damage tied to pets and no hard control. Add Dom secondaries, you remove the lack of AoE and get significant ST damage on which you have perfect control. Add permadom, you lessen the lack of hard control (blind/confuse at mag6 tagging bosses in one shot and EBs much easier ; as for minions and lieuts, not much of a concern IMHO).
*It could be argued that with reactive proc being WAI, certain combos like ill/cold get the best of both worlds.
I have a feeling the dev hasn't ported to Dominator because it may be overpowering and not because they have no time. The set revolves mostly around "pets" so there is very little they need to do for Domination.
And having Perma dom is still beneficial because you still get mez protection, endurance and the single hold, aoe hold and confuse can still be enhanced. -
I've been reading a lot of threads on how awesome Illusion is for soloing and for other purposes (like tanking AVs). Many Dominators want a Dark Illusion control set.
What's the real reason behind Dominator not getting Illusion Control? Controller has all of Dominator's control sets but Dominator doesn't get Illusion.
I believe it's going to overpowered on Dominator when you have PA tanking. However, Illusion also has many powers that are not affected by Domination.
Do you think it's going to be too powerful on a perma Dom or the dev just hasn't got to it? I mean it shouldn't take long to port Illusion set since you don't need to change anything, unlike creating a new Assault set for Dom.
What do you think? I mean I've tried Illusion/Thermal and while the pets are very awesome, Illusion lacks aoe damage (but this won't be a problem on Dominator!). -
Quote:I used to think that until I used my Martial Stalker who only has one patron aoe and he was only lvl 50 with no level shift. However, what I think matters more is your TEAM and not just yourself. My MA stalker got two VR during 7 runs of BAF. He certainly didn't help much with lack of buffs/debuffs/aoe and being -4 lvl so it must be my Team that got me those rewards.Originally Posted by MajorTractor
My personal experiance from a couple hundred trails leads me to not think not everything is 100% random.
It seems without fail my high dmg AOE characters get almost only rares and very rares. While low dmg or toons lacking AOE get commons and uncommons. I sure it has a random element in the formula, but it appears to be skewed on certain characters.
So in the end, it's random and yet it's not. The game checks for both your contribution and your team's right? -
I believe it's random but sometimes it makes you wonder what system the dev is using because on my Soldier (who has tons AoE damage) has yet to get a Very Rare. My Fort has got two Very Rare so far but she is also the one I've used the most.
Now, on a Sunday morning I tried to get my Martial/Will Stalker to Alpha tier 3 for the first level shift and he did like 6-7 BAF runs. Remember, he was only lvl 50 so his contribution (with very limited AoE damage) had to be crappy and even I admit that but during those 7 runs, he got TWO Very Rare and ONE Rare. Explain that to me!!! lol I thought my Stalker was leeching during the fight but the game certainly loves me.
So if you ask me which AT has the best chance to get Rare and Very Rare, I have to say it is Stalker and it's just a pure guess. -
Fortunata and Huntsman/Bane Build!
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The only part that I don't really understand is taking Patron pet and not Reinforcement. Those two Reinforcements are a lot better than the single Patron pet and you don't need to take two other Mace Mastery.
Mace Beam is a pretty pathetic attack for 2s activation time. You already took Poisonous Ray for range damage. Mace Beam does not critical for Bane (I believe).
If you want to complete Bane's design, you might as well take Web single hold which gives you more tools to stop runners and ground flyers.
And I agree with the OP that you don't have to have soft-capped defense especially he already took Tough and Bane has several soft controls that are quite useful for soloing. However, I do highly suggest you take at least one Assault from secondary. It's 15% constant damage buff. And if you must have one range aoe, I will definitely drop Disruptor's Blast for Venom Grenade. :P -
Quote:Originally Posted by Balorn
I've been hearing about how Crabs are awesome at AoE and survivability, so I thought I'd try one.
I've been reading bits here and there (none of the guides I saw seem to have been updated recently) and I've been trying to plan one in Mid's.
There simply don't seem to be enough power slots available to take all the "if you skip this power you're an idiot" powers, let alone slot them all well enough.
What am I not getting? Are Crab builds really that tight, even with inherent fitness, that I can't afford to take a travel power and maybe one more non-essential power pool ?
Also, is it possible to build a good crab without spending billions on IOs? I can afford maybe a couple hundred million, but no way can I purple it out or anything.
Yes, Crab is probably the easiest to make it "good" without billions on IOs. Your only problem is going to be endurance which you can try to reduce with unique (do Villain or Hero tips) or get Cardiac. Cardiac will help you soooooooooooo much.
Well, if you choose Crab, then you should choose the +Resistance Shield and Serum. Those two make Crab survive a lot better. Venom grenade is a must IMO.
Other than that, you should try them out and see what attack chains you like better. Some don't like the melee attacks at all and some (like me) really enjoy slashing with crab-legs. :P And I like Frenzy! I just wish the graphic could be more impressive.
And a lot of people are using Double Assault and Double Maneuver now. It is where SoA's strength is = team buffs.