JuliusSeizure

It's 2 minutes in game for Defenders, under the detailed info tab.

I never trust Mids for anything other than a build outline.

I wouldn't call it a stunt. You don't worry about Fury generation on AoE attacks-- the agro the generate is a huge boost to Fury.

Having multiple cones is perfectly viable as they line up well. Fire/SR/Mako would be a fine end game build for AoE and ST.

Defender version is definitely displayed as 2 minutes when I respec my Defender.

I'm not sure about it ever having been changed to a 4 minute timer.

Defender APP Soul Drain: 2 minute recharge.
Dominator GW Patron Soul Drain: 4 minute recharge.


This definitely sucks for my Doms and is great for my Defenders. Is there anyway to make them both just have a 3 minute timer?

Sweet-- thanks for the info. Can't wait to get it.

I am quite familiar with Soul Drain for Brutes/Scrappers but am not sure if the skill works the same for Doms.

--Is there a front loaded +damage +toHit from the first target?
--If so, what are the values?
--Or, does it function like the old Soul Drain that merely adds a per-target buff with no front-loaded component?

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Fire probably made out the worst, relatively speaking. DPE went down relative to the old version, and AoE damage went down compared to before while in Domination. Not that bad really but if you had a /Fire perma-Dom you might be wishing for the old version back.

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I couldn't disagree more. Firey Embrace combined with higher base damage modifiers and skills with increase damage scales means that Fire Assault is absolutely insane. It's within reason for a perma-Dom to have FE up for 30 out of 50 seconds.

This was a HUGE buff for Fire.

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When I'm fighting mobs, pretty much nothing hits me. But when that wears off...i'm toast.


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OwtS doesn't add any defense, so if you aren't getting hit nothing should really change when it wears off.

For reference, OwtS adds +hp, +recvovery, and +resist.

It's not one if the first powers to be cut, but doing such is more viable for Brutes than Scrappers/Blasters.

BU adds significant +toHit, which is very important in many situations. The damage is a solid addition even for Brutes with full Fury.

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Although, I have a question: For Grounded, the passive do you have to be *on* the ground, or can you use hover (being close to the ground)?

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I believe that you do have to be on the ground and that hover negates the power.

The other issues is that you can't lay a burn patch while in the air. (That would be for Fire armor...)

Would you consider a DM/ELA? It's my favorite pairing with DM.

Defense sets are almost too powerful with access to the glut of IO set bonuses. In fact, it's so easy to soft-cap that the -toHit debuff from Dark Mellee is largely useless end game.

My experience is that the -toHit stacks well with the bit of defense that you can get through IOs on Fire and ELA (especially with Darkest Night from GW). This drastically increases the potential of these sets, stacking solid defense with some of the best resist values. It's still not as powerful as a softcapped defense toon, but you recieve a damage aura and endurance recovery tools as well.

Speaking of damage auras-- these toggles are extremely potent for Brutes. I would not roll a DM toon without one. Soul Drain + fury + a damage aura melts minions in no time, allowing DM's superior single-target DPS be concentrated on harder opponents. The minions are but an afterthought caught in your aura of death, feeding your fury. Both /SR and /WP are ponderous in relation to /Fire and /ELA in this regard.

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Do you herd with them?


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LOL at herding, relic of a bygone era.

I have no idea where these few posts ragging on defense are coming from. Cascade failure has never happened on my SR and SD once I had 95% debuff resistance.

Defense sets are beyoned broken compared to Fire, ELA, and Dark Aarmor-- that's b-r-o-k-e-n on the side of being overpowered, not gimpy.

I most certainly agree.

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I think Psy Screams arc should be increased so you can actually hit more foes with it.


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Range enhancers are crucial. Luckily, Dam/Range HOs and SHOs are dirt cheap.

This looks like a solid revamp.

Any dominator should know that we, as an AT, are cursed with a glut of click powers. This means that the shift to higher damge attacks with a commensurate increase in recharge/endurance is a significant buff in and of itself. The damage scale shifts outside of domination are the core of this revamp, but these numbers are nearly as important.

Two thumbs up from me (Ise/Psi, Mind/Fire).

IMO, the fastest "feeling" set for Brutes is Dual Blades.

It's not the fastest mathematically and mechanically. However, visually and viscerally, it feels incredibly fast. Many of the attacks involve multiple hits being compressed into the span of a few seconds:

Power Slice: 3 "attacks" in 1.4 seconds.
Ablating Strike: 2 attacks in 1.03 seconds.
Vengeful: 4 "attacks" in 2.43 seconds
1k cuts: 11 "attacks" in 3.3 seconds.

Of course, I place the word attack in quotes because it's merely a matter of unique animations dividing an offensive maneuver into smaller chunks of damage. The end result is a character that appears to be moving incredibly fast, while actually having mid-tier animation speed.

Don't listen to the people touting recharge as ideal. Both recharge and regneration have steep diminishing returns. It's best to strike a balance between these two attributes to maximize your survivability.

Example:
<ul type="square">[*]Healing Flames with 100% recharge reduction: 40/2=20 seconds.[*]Healing Flames with 200% recharge reduction:40/3=13.3 seconds.[*]Healing Flames with 300% recharge reduction:40/4=10 seconds.[/list]
As you can see, the first 100% recharge reduction nets 20 seconds of increased recharge. The next 100% yields just 6.7 seconds, and it gets worse from there with 3.3 seconds of reduction for the next 100%.

The same mechanic governs regeneration. Try to hit 200% regeneration and 30-40% global recharge (+70% from hasten). This will bring Healing Flames to near 13 seconds of recharge while hasten is up (95% socketed, 70% hasten, 30-40% global).

+HP is solid and synergizes well with resistance, regen, and heals. It's also often available in conjunction with +regeneration.

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If I'm serious about PvP I would think my attacks would be well slotted with IOs and I'd have a ton of global accuracy with IO set bonuses (in addition to the smaller benefits of Invincibility).

Having said that, you might be totally right ... but that would apply to any set except SS (i.e. Rage) no?

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SS is ideal *coughbrokencough* and anything with BU is adequate.

I have 94% global accuracy on my DM/Elec, at least 60% accuracy socketed in any given attack, and use a Kismet. DM is still garbage against anything with solid defense numbers. You need toHit buff just as badly as ever in PvP-- if not more so due to elusivity. You just don't need as much as before due to diminishing returns, but this value is far more than DM can reliably muster.

Dark Mellee is probably the worst set to PvP with aside from Dual Blades.

Brute:
<ul type="square">[*]1- You get an excellent agro aura that scrappers lack.[*]2- You have more HP.[*]3- The skills are ordered better, unless you prefer Quickness sooner and a gaping hole to AoE protection.[*]4- You have a 90% resistance cap. This means that on a large team providing adequate buffs, you can hit 90% damage resistance. This happens quite often with a Sonics Corruptor and me being at 20% health due to an unlucky streak. [*]4- It's tough to beat Gloom/Dark Obliteration/Darkest Night from Ghost Widow. They are 3 of the top 5 epic powers available for and Scrapper or Brute-- and all in the same set.[/list]
Scrapper:
<ul type="square">[*]1- You can get Conserve Power.[/list]

If you notice, defense buffs enhances the debuff protection in every other kill in the set. It's the same mechanic for Active Defense. Socket a Defense/Recharge/ToHit SHO or HO in Active Defense and watch the value of your debuff resistance increase accordingly.

Mids and especially CoD are not that reliable.

The purple damage procs are amazing. Not good, but amazing...

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Even with unique Numina and Miracle and set bonuses?

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Yup. Even with multiple uniques, stacked 4% values from purples, and a recovery buff from the crafting station at your SG base.

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Inv/DM or WP/DM isn't a bad choice these days if you're going Tanker.

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How do you reconcile the lack of on-demand toHit buff in Dark Mellee? This is espacially important given the general potency of defense sets in PvP and corresponding gimpiness of resist sets. You WILL face high defense in the majority of Zone and pick-up arena PvP.

I have played DM in PvP and it's pretty awful given the favor of defense toons, elusivity, and having your toHit buff attached to a 10' PBAoE.

Defense/Recharge/ToHit HOs and SHOs effictively add up to 55% defense debuff protection allowing SD to hit the cap.

(Note: that would be +55% in Ative Defense, and does require stacking. Yes, it's not easy to achieve, but SD is pretty much broken when you get it there.)