Katten

I've got mixed feeligns about teaming with bots and demons mm's. I very much enjoy the flavor they add on outdoor and large cave maps, but on tight caves and office maps they block my view, lag behind, and really just confuse me, too many things happening all around.

I'd never outright say that to anyone, or disqualify them from teaming for that, but it is a little annoying and I never seem to have that problem when teaming with the humanoid MM types.

So, the defenders bein lame, but may have his reasons (as stated before) lag noise and chaos.

Yea, Super Stunners have kind of hurt freaks for me, they used to be so much fun to fight (so easy). However, I do like having a use for range fighting and Knockback.

The Honored Brute is the most powerful regular boss IMO, between powerful debuffs decent resistance and mez resist and the fact that all their attacks seem lightning fast and long range, usually 2 are able to give even my IO'd toons a scare.

Firstly, grats on the first post. Also, take my opinions with a grain of salt, I am speaking from experience using the same theory as you for spines/fire (more damage faster is more important than me dying, esp with a self rez). That means I can give you advice from your side, but since I don't often bother soft capping resist builds, not so much from theirs. Lastly, I took fire mastery because fire blast > Lunge, fire ball = more fire embraced fueled goodness.

I think you may be overselling yourself on recharge. Sure, it's nice to be able to use healing flames as much as possible, but past 60-70% you're not really helping your AoE damage since you always have spine burst, throw spines, or ES/FB/ET ready.

Also, same goes for endurance recovery at a certain point with /fire. You HAVE an end recovery power, and the damage is not as laughable as it may seem, given its radius. Especially with high recharge, I've been running at 2.96 recovery for ages, never had an end problem with both auras and shields running (with tough you start to eat into it, but my rech is only 50% on an incomplete build).

Best advice here, OBLI'S for a spines/fire, slot that sixth obli, take the 17% melee defense you can get from those alone (+significant s/l) and you will be much more survivable at hardly any cost, 17% for a spines/fire is survivable enough since you can easily melt spawns in half the time you could if you bothered soft capping (esp since you can do so with 2 purples) and sacrificing damage/rech/acc. Unless you're trying to do +4 farming or that sort of challenge (but you don't right?)

Decimation and Positrons blast (5 slotted) can make up some recharge in powers you've 4 slotted (you can retrieve that from the over rec slotting in health).

Consider taking temp protection as your resist slot mule, (free fire res cap) for something else...

and for your recovery you lost in changing health's slotting, get the atlas medallion and portal jockey, they dont take long, a free +10 endurance will make up for much of that.

And, lastly, if you wind up taking fire mastery ever, and lose your inherant KD. Slot Fireball with the Ragnarok KD (33%) proc. It's huge for surviving the return fire after you've launched YOUR alpha.

Quick question: Does cardiac effect the endurance usage of the pets powers? Biggest reason I'd choose that if it does is to keep support bots in the game, they run out of endurance and become inefficient fighters/support too easily on basic SO slotting IMO.

Otherwise Nerve would be a close second (bots/traps) for more defense and to make sure every hit lands (just as good or better than slightly more damage as far as I'm concerned).

I think what you're looking for is an armored costume and super reflexes or invulnerability. (speed or dexterity) or shield, (think ascendant unlockable shield), no reason you cant have an armored shield incorporated (just like exoskeleton wing coverings, strong thick armor to protect the fragile wings beneath). Or from a mechanical perspective, it's just practical for a humanoid, especially if it's a weightless projected energy shield, on top of already decent armor.

Allow your imagination some freedom:

SR-> Speed, Defense enhancing armor
Invuln-> Dexterity(tohit), Defense, Resistance
Shield-> Defense, Strength, Resistance (teleportation in shield charge can be seen as teleportation directly, or the ability to immensely boost speed).

Det. Scruff McGruff @Katten, had a great time being part of the fireworks on the synapse run(except for babbage bein such a big baby) See you all on the Manticore if you're running it the 29th.

And to anyone else reading this thread, we EASILY were able to take the GM's/AV's to the -damage cap (-90%) with all the tox ammo and a couple seeker drones. Gotta love unresistable debuffs.

Rad/Nrg/Force blaster (as you first suggest) Colored white (would also match temp invuln from the app's natural color), especially now that you can make the X-Ray beam emit from your hands!

Or, KM/Invuln Scrapper or Invuln/KM Tanker (depending on which is more important to you, dealing or taking damage) Though with IO's both can easily soft cap. KM offers two great looking ranged attacks and the most power armory PBAoE in the game (for energy sort of power armor) IMO. Both are also quite capable combos due to the +res/-dam working together. Invuln also gives +tohit, which goes with the targeting computer sort of idea.

Lastly, PB sounds pretty good too. Just stay human form of course. The Blasts/Melee it offers are perfect (in variety animation and color) but the glowing eye thing, the lack of customization, and the fact you have to come up with an 'armor projects a Force field' sort of concept makes it more difficult though.

Don't worry about trying to globally enhance resistance. Enhancing defense can fit in with an armored toon too. Basing off DnD esque rules you can simply say the blows are completely being ignored/deflected by your armor. In fact, you will find if you choose either shields or Energy Aura or Ice Armor, the text above you is always 'deflected' or 'absorbed' never 'dodged' or 'evaded'.

Bots/traps. So good it's boring.

You get your FFG early, you can make its field invisible if it annoys you, it drains no endurance. Your pets heal and FF themselves. You can debuff everything in the game but 'special'. You have tool for eating alphas. You can remote mine and poison trap the christ out of anyone who gave you trouble. The AssBot shoots flaming rockets at everything and the group as a whole on its final upgrade becomes an AoE god of alpha death fun times.

Thing is, traps fire at enemies themselves. Bots fire at enemies without you needing to direct movement. FFG and bots support themselves. The person who is needed least? You. It's as close to watching TV as the game gets.

8 Blasters. All Range Boosted Assault Rifle. Full Auto.

Nothing could ever survive the opening salvo to make it in range. If anyone has ever tried to superteam this, or has experimented in some way similar...

Please, share the experience so I can live the thrill vicariously.

Thank you, missed that, must have skimmed over thinking it was arena chat.

Wasn't there a way to access the arena terminal remotely? I'm trying to find it but I don't see it on the wiki, and the pvp guide here is a broken link (from an empty header thread).

Well, feedback is feedback. Supports nice, criticisms fine if explained also. All about the promoting of discussion here.

If I came off as ranty or extremist, it's only because I've been playing a character solo and trying to earn badges while I'm at it. (Something I really haven't done much of). What I'd found is that the game is really quite cool when you use the contacts for your merits and leveling, and the underused hazard zones for slashing and burning (that is, farming for profit and because you like killing large mobs).

To SHARE that, I'm just encouraging equality of reward. It allows for a more even spread within the community among the modern content, the old stuff, the end leveled and the rising characters. That way on a highly populated server, you would be more likely to find people to team with doing the same (rather than grinding out cash/levels the most efficient ways possible).

While I'm willing to sacrifice some for that (especially since I've already got my infdaddy characters) many are not, or are simply ignorant (by definition) of the cooler zones, and more interesting story available in the game.

At first, I was super stoked about the new incarnate system. ANY level 50 content I did would easily put me along the path of the incarnate, and every TF housed a unique component, that made it worth while to do every TF, or each as they applied to the incar-power of choice at least.

All this meant, was regular level 50 shenanigans (missions and farms) were one way to approach power, and just as equally were the TF's if you wanted to do them. basically, shards vs specifics.

Now however, the Weekly Strike Targets have caused level 50's to abandon almost all level 50 content, and keeps them from playing any pre-50 content and trials trading this all for the chance at either double rewards or the notice of the well (for each character).

The result being that there is a far greater reward for repetitively throwing yourself into the same content again, and again, and again and again until your sick of it that week, or you could also choose just to play alone, or on a tip team

And there's another thing.

Tips. We're glad to have some more content, really, we are. But why do tips, which usually have a tenuous plot at best (when trying to interconnect them), which are played like radio missions, require little dedication and attention, give 50! merits the first time, and an A-Merit every time you complete 10 of them. While most story arcs, which require the team to travel around, have decent stories, with interesting content (that the entire game revolved around previously) give insignificant rewards comparatively, with no means of progressing as a team to the reward unless you are perfectly synced up.

__________________________________________________ __________

Now lets simplify the problem with tips (not WST's) with a direct comparison.

Given that:

1 Allignment Merit = 50 Reward Merits + 20,000,000 inf

10 tips + 1 Morality = 50 Merits(1st time), and 50 Merits + 20m inf(1A-M) (every repeat).

Harvey Maylors: Upon the Psychic Plane Story Arc, comprised of 14 Door Missions (4 Defeat All), 2 Hunts, 4 Talks, and 2 AVs gives .... 49 Reward Merits, the highest of any arc reward.

That means at best, a story arc can almost reward the equivalent of a repeated morality mission minus the 20 million inf that you'll have to spend if you want to convert those reward merits into A-Merits. Even if they require more missions in number, harder missions in difficulty, longer missions by requirement, and more inconvenient missions by travel. And only those with the specific contact (of over a hundred) at the specific mission being played in the arc, get a stab at the reward.

Which begs to question: "Why should anyone play the story anymore?"
Which unfortunately is added on to the original complaint
"Why aren't level 50's playing the TF's and trials they enjoy?"

With the ultimate answer being, there is little reward for playing the game we want to, there is only reward for playing the game you want us to.

What this means, is that when those things coincide, this game is more fun and rewarding than ever. It also means when they don't, it is more boring and lonely than ever.

Ha, yea my archer and AR are both range boosted, I've found one of the most satisfying things to do is, on the ITF in the first mission, stand on top of the ring at the end of the mis. From there it's just twang,twang,twang cycle through all your attacks while cycling targets. You can hit anyone in the entire ring from above, while your team fights below feels very old school archer.

Just saying.

Another vote for sonic/mental, it gets every trick that's available to blasters in one character. Defiance and -res work perfectly together, as do sleeps and strong ST damage.

That said, SOLO, I'd pick Ice/MM Ice has higher damage and waay less root time. (ignoring the -res) the slows and the HOLDS allow you to easily pick apart a high level small spawn (I find I get more experience solo facing tough small groups of enemies instead of large groups of weak enemies). Main reason for saying ignore the -res, usually enemies die in too few attacks for you to get significant -res on them.

I'd toss any energy blaster of mine into the incinerator for having Nova and not being able to Build Up.