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Lobster

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  1. Lobster

    All good things...

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Liquid View Post
    I'm sorry to see you go, Castle. Again I'm reminded that nothing lasts forever.

    Thank you for everything that you've done. I remember how much better I felt about the future of AT and Powerset balance when you took over the reins, and though obviously it's not (and never really could be) perfect, the difference you made in the past several years was huge. I remember the state of Fiery Aura when Healing Flames only healed around 17% due to a broken AT modifier. I remember AVs being immune to Gauntlet and Taunt auras. I remember how much less effective Dominators and Stalkers were than other ATs, and how Invulnerability seemed out of date after Willpower came out. I remember Energy Aura and Electric Armor being really, really terrible defensive sets compared to the others. I remember that you fixed all of them, and more.

    Nobody is going to agree with every decision you made, but I sure appreciated the vast majority of them. Good luck with your future employment, and know that not every player has hostile feelings towards you.
    The things Liquid points out (which are only a moderate subset!) highlight the quality of work and forum interaction we came to rely on (and were probably spoiled by, compared to other games). I sincerely hope that your successors will strive towards the standards you kept (in general, not so much recently when, as others have pointed out, the DevDigest has become a graveyard).
  2. Lobster

    All good things...

    POST-ACTION

    ...and so ends another era.

    I'm sorry to see you go (and frankly it makes me worry more than a little!) - thanks so much for all the effort you have put in over the years - especially the degree to which you have worked with, and for, the community.

    I wish you the best of luck, and hope that you are leaving for a more compelling opportunity.

    [edit: Also, this:

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Vanden View Post
    Synapse and Black Scorpion never post, without BAB and now you the dev digest is going to be so empty!
    /end]
  3. Lobster
    Man, these things go fast, don't they? Closest I've been to one airing and still no go.
  4. Lobster
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rock_Crag View Post
    Yeah, that's why I try to avoid using it as an opener when facing smaller baddies. And if a Boss I'm lookin at gets smoked, I can usually find a stray minion to one-shot with it. It's probably not as effective for teamplay... but man... I do love one-shotting things. lol.
    Yeah, I think I hit for 980ish on a TF the other night, I smiled.
  5. Lobster
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rock_Crag View Post
    Agreed. It's definitely worth getting regardless of the lack of crit. It's a great addition to your attack chain.
    I find that, on a team, the draw+animation is so long that usually even bosses are dead by the time I hit them BUT I still love it for solo/small teams and AV fights were keeping doublestacked -res debuffs is just awesome.
  6. Lobster
    Hats: Detail 1 or 2: Chains & Chain Wrapped are missing.

    I have them on an old char, can't mess with his costume without losing the pieces.
  7. Lobster
    On my laptop:
    Vista 64bit/4gb ram/t8100 2.1x2/GeForce 9800M GTS/260.99 drivers

    Whenever I open the costume window, either to change costume, or to edit one at a tailor, the game freezes & the screen goes black. I have never seen it "finish" crashing, or do anything beyond that and I wind up just killing the widow (yes, running in windowed mode, need to try in fullscreen now).

    Also, when I quit the game (in any manner) the same thing happens about 85% of the time.

    I have had this issue with every driver version at least since 260.63... only happens on my laptop (of course, my other machines are XP & 7, so it could be a Vista issue.....). No issues with other games, anything else, etc.

    Anyone else seen this, have any ideas?

    [edit: appears to only happen in windowed mode.]
  8. Lobster
    Could we possibly get an option to set the powers display back to the "no set bonus" option that we've had for the last few weeks?

    I love it. I hate having to look at all that set bonus junk. Really, who cares?
  9. Lobster
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HacknSlash View Post
    For example, a Ribosome Exposure (End/Res) being slotted into Kuji-in Rin enhancing the psi resistance of the power, even though it doesn't take +RES IO's.

    Similarly, Mind Link cannot be slotted with generic RCH IO's, but DEF/RCH IO's affect recharge in that power.

    What I don't know is if that effect applies to Alphas or not.
    As stated by Castle at some point, Mind Link is a special case and designed that way purposely (no, I can't think of a good reason for why - to force some kind of slotting beyond /rech??). I've heard that the rech alphas don't work on it, but didn't go that route on my Fort so can't confirm.
  10. Lobster
    I picked up the tier 2 spiritual (recharge/heal) on my nec/dark last night and I'm really happy with that choice. With my slotting (all 4 procs squeezed in) I was missing out on some recharge on my Extraction and had no heals slotted on the pets - so bringing my Extraction back up to over 100% recharge (not to mention allowing me to swap a rech for range in Tar Patch & more frequent holds & fears) AND giving all my pets a 33% boost to healing? GOLD.

    Sure, I do miss having that little extra bit of damage, and I'm hard on my end bar - but I added about 6 points of end and the perf shifter proc (and I have no accolades on this guy yet), so I'm really not doing too badly there.

    All in all, I think that rech/heal is a one of the better syngergized routes for necromancers (and demons, although there Cardiacs are going to be a tough choice) and also for dark.
  11. Lobster
    Nice build!

    Do you actively use boxing or is it a set mule?

    Which alpha are you planning on getting?

    My first thoughts would be to pull the extra slots out of aim - with hasten and/or a Spiritual alpha (I went rech/heal Spiritual) it will be up plenty and you can better use those slots elsewhere - moving one over to TT:L will cap your melee, ranged, smashing & lethal.

    That adds 3s to your Call Reinforcements recharge, but a) I don't find 7s downtime to be much different from perma in practice (animation & deploy time, etc.) and b) if you are going Spiritual alpha, you'll probably hit numerical perma without that 5%.

    Then, you don't really need the 9% accuracy from that set in aim... I'd pull out two more slots and find more interesting places for them (so you can keep the 2% damage) or just one if you want the minor resists. I don't have any brilliant ideas for what to do with those 2 slots...but I suppose you could put one more in fort & tough for the 5 piece set bonus and grab another 2.5 % aoe.

    That would put you at 45 s/l/m, 45.3 r, 35 aoe, 32.5 f/c, 33.7 e/n, 30 psi.

    That's the main simple tweak I see.
  12. Lobster
    Currently running musculature. IIRC my fort does pretty well on end, but I'll probably pick up a common Cardiac just to test.
  13. Lobster
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jelloman2K View Post
    Just to show a completely different approach, here's my petless hovercrab build after an i19 respec. I dropped the pets in my mid-40's and I've been perfectly happy with that approach. (Working on a 3rd build now with pets; my 2nd is a bane.) I have some expensive IOs in there I know, but only a couple purples. Now that I have a cardiac boost slotted, I probaby don't need the numina's and miracle uniques, or the PerfShifter proc, or the 2nd EndRed in Assault. No end problems any more.

    I'm VERY happy I took the fighting pool. I also have it in the bane build. Very solid positional def (60/37/48), 58 S/L resist, 50 fire/cold, 42 nrg/ne/toxic (looking at the actual numbers in-game with a Cardiac Radial Boost giving me a slight DR enhancement).

    This is definitely my toughest toon. It's not exactly a leveling build - 3 of the main attacks in his chain are the Mu AoEs. (Which are awesome.) This guy seriously rocks the ITF.
    Nice looking build. I like it in general & all the procs!

    Random feedback:

    I would swap channel & longfang to another slotting, you've got plenty of acc and your range is overcapped. It looks like you are going for +dmg, so maybe 4 slot devastation in one (see below for other) + proc + filler?

    Same deal with the 6th slot in one of your maneuvers.

    It looks like you slotted zephyr just for hitting the aoe cap? How about dropping Ruin + a proc in Channelgun? That will hit that hole & give you two free slots. If you're really attached to the extra KB prot, stick a uniq in Wolf Spider Armor.

    This leaves you with 3-4 spare slots...maybe drop hover (unless you need a fly [EDIT: Just noticed it's a hovercrab! _So maybe swap CJ & hover slotting & drop CJ? The defense #s I was looking at were with only one running, I forget if you can run both or not, been a while.]) and pick up something fun? Or drop a lotg+rech in hover & the leftover slot in one of the maneuvers?

    /end drive-by unsolicited feedback
    <.<
    >.>
  14. Lobster
    With a recharge alpha (the route I'm going), you can fit in another proc in Call instead of the Rech IO - also do you need all 4 slots in stamina? I'm doing fine with 1 less - then you could drop it into spiderlings and pic up that 2nd missing proc.

    Also, with radial boost you'll get 33% heal, so an unslotted Aid Other might actually be worth it - and you could recover a slot from Serum if you're not married to the 5%.

    The provoke suggestion is a decent one, and one I wouldn't mind trying if I had a free power... I was already planning it on my tank-ish build. Hmm. I may try and squeeze that & AO into my build... maybe toss out the second assault & second passive status prot.

    Thought: Do you use aim that often? Gaussian's is such a better fit for TT:L IMHO. With all you recharge, an unslotted aim is ~33s, putting a rech into it only brings it down to ~29, so I would suggest swapping those two out.
  15. Lobster
    @Santakid: Thanks for the kind words and the great overview on alphas. Amusingly, I'm going the opposite route from you & went with the spiritual. It helps shore up my aoes that have less recharge due to set slotting.... and with PETS of course. Yes, I'm currently running an mm-centric build.

    @drugfree boy & @maxtsorm: Free stamina makes it that much easier to fit in weave for the defense builds... I'll try and put up an updated take on the defense build when I can.

    @steelrat: That's what I love to hear, and why I put all the effort I did into these guides! Crabs can be really great on a budget (and stupid-good with $$, of course).

    @icemanstryketh: Awesome! Glad to know I helped out! I've updated some of the builds where I had time - at least enough for you to load them into the planner. I'll try and do some actual updates soon.

    For those that are curious, here's what I've got currently:

    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.90
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Octet: Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier
    Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier
    Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Speed
    Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Channelgun -- Ruin-Acc/Dmg(A), Ruin-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Ruin-Dmg/Rchg(3), Ruin-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Ruin-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5)
    Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(7)
    Level 2: Longfang -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(7), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(9), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
    Level 4: Combat Training: Defensive -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg(13), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(13), GftotA-Def(15)
    Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), DefBuff-I(15)
    Level 8: Suppression -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng(17), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(19), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(19), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(21), RechRdx-I(21)
    Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(23), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(23), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(25), RedFtn-Def(25)
    Level 12: Venom Grenade -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), RechRdx-I(17), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(27), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(29)
    Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
    Level 16: Tactical Training: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 18: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 20: Tough -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 22: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(34), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(36), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(36), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(36), GSFC-Build%(37)
    Level 24: Fortification -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(31), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33), ImpArm-ResDam(34), Empty(34)
    Level 26: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
    Level 28: Serum -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), H'zdH-Heal/Rchg(39)
    Level 30: Weave -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg(33), DefBuff-I(37), GftotA-Def(37)
    Level 32: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(39), RechRdx-I(43)
    Level 35: Summon Spiderlings -- ExRmnt-Acc/Rchg(A), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg(39), ExRmnt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), ExRmnt-Dmg/EndRdx(40)
    Level 38: Call Reinforcements -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(40), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(42), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), BldM'dt-Dmg(42)
    Level 41: Web Envelope -- DblAc-Acc/Rchg(A), DblAc-Rchg/Immob(43), DblAc-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43), DblAc-Acc/EndRdx(45), DblAc-Immob/Rng(45)
    Level 44: Shatter Armor -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(46), Dmg-I(46), RechRdx-I(46), EndRdx-I(48)
    Level 47: Summon Blaster -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(48), RechRdx-I(48), RechRdx-I(50), RechRdx-I(50)
    Level 49: Omega Maneuver -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(50)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Conditioning
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(31), EndMod-I(33)
    ------------



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    My target build, once I get some $$, is the Mastercrab build I edited into the final section of the guide above.



    Here's an updated look at a defense centric build:

    The Crank

    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.90
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Level 50 Natural Arachnos Soldier
    Primary Power Set: Crab Spider Soldier
    Secondary Power Set: Crab Spider Training
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leadership
    Power Pool: Presence
    Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Channelgun -- Entrpc-Acc/Dmg(A), Entrpc-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Entrpc-Heal%(5), Entrpc-Dmg/Rchg(7), Entrpc-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19)
    Level 1: Crab Spider Armor Upgrade -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), S'fstPrt-ResKB(5)
    Level 2: Longfang -- Entrpc-Acc/Dmg(A), Entrpc-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Entrpc-Dmg/Rchg(7), Entrpc-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), Entrpc-Heal%(29)
    Level 4: Combat Training: Defensive -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 6: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A), DefBuff-I(37), DefBuff-I(46)
    Level 8: Suppression -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(9), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng(9), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(19), RechRdx-I(31)
    Level 10: Tactical Training: Maneuvers -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg(11), GftotA-Def(11), GftotA-Run+(13)
    Level 12: Venom Grenade -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(13), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng(15), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(23), RechRdx-I(33)
    Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
    Level 16: Kick -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 18: Tough -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(31), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), ImpArm-ResDam(34)
    Level 20: Weave -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(21), GftotA-Def(21), GftotA-Run+(23)
    Level 22: Maneuvers -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(46), GftotA-Def(48), GftotA-Run+(48)
    Level 24: Fortification -- ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), ImpArm-ResDam/Rchg(25), ImpArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), ImpArm-ResDam(27)
    Level 26: Frenzy -- Erad-Dmg(A), Erad-Acc/Rchg(27), Erad-Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(33), Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Erad-%Dam(34)
    Level 28: Tactical Training: Leadership -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(37), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(45), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Build%(46)
    Level 30: Provoke -- Mocking-Acc/Rchg(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rng(36)
    Level 32: Wolf Spider Armor -- S'fstPrt-ResKB(A)
    Level 35: Serum -- Numna-Heal/Rchg(A), H'zdH-Heal/Rchg(36), Mrcl-Heal/Rchg(36), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(37)
    Level 38: Call Reinforcements -- SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg(A), SvgnRt-Dmg/EndRdx(39), SvgnRt-Acc/EndRdx(39), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SvgnRt-Acc(40), SvgnRt-PetResDam(40)
    Level 41: Web Envelope -- Enf'dOp-Acc/Rchg(A), Enf'dOp-EndRdx/Immob(42), Enf'dOp-Acc/EndRdx(42), Enf'dOp-Immob/Rng(42), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43), Enf'dOp-Acc/Immob(45)
    Level 44: Shatter Armor -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(48), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg(50), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
    Level 47: Mental Training -- Run-I(A)
    Level 49: Combat Training: Offensive -- Acc-I(A)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Conditioning
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Empty(A), Empty(29)
    Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(40), P'Shift-End%(43)
    ------------



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    If I ever get to where I can afford a second build, this is what I'll do. If you're going to be specced to tank... might as well grab taunt in case you need it. With capped defense and 53% s/l, ~42% e/n, 46% f, 39% c/t (&4% psi)... hell, that's pretty tanky.

    This build lacks hasten - but there's a free slot (stored in health) that you could use to work in hasten via removing the KB prot io from Crab Spider Armor - I have the build with mag 12 kb prot - although I generally run with only mag 4, I've heard some folks swear by 12, so there it is as an option.

    Without hasten you don't get perma Serum in this build, but I think it's up enough (~30s downtime), and I threw Entropic Chaos's (instead of Decimations) in Channelgun & Longfang for the occasional heal - I haven't tested this aspect yet, but I'm thinking it will be fun and about all that's needed with this kind of defense.

    I also threw Frenzy in because a) I love the look of the attack and b) you'll be in the thick of things more - even if only to use Shatter Armor - which you absolutely should (contributing a perma -20% res debuff is great) c) the numbers (102 base dmg/20 rech/8 size are comparable to the "big gun" pbaoe - Foot Stomp (63 base [NO RAGE]/20 rech/15 size on tanks). The main area where it's lacking - and I've pointed this out before, is the pbaoe size. But still, in a TF setting (or running at 1-4/x8) you'll hit "enough" targets with it.

    I think any of the alpha slots EXCEPT +accuracy would go great with this build.
  16. Lobster

    Nec as baseline?

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Poisonfist1 View Post
    First off, I agree with your rankings.

    I would really like to see Nin and Merc get improved to be as good as Necro. Once the "melee" bug is fixed, they could look at giving Nin and Merc some much needed improvements. That being said, I have played every MM primary to ~30 and they are all fun. I look forward to making more!
    Yeah, and I suppose I should have said that none of them are actually "weak"... this is all relative! Even with just SOs they all do fine - but it's still pretty noticeable how much "weaker" nin & merc are.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dark_Impact View Post
    IMO, the only thing that ninjas need is more survivability. Their damage is just fine.

    I'd like to see their defenses inspired by SR.

    When summoned:

    Genin - 5 def to all
    Jounin - 10 def to all
    Oni - 10 def to all, + some resistance

    Then each pet upgrade adds on another 5 to all. On top of this, give them the scaling resists of SR.

    Alternatively, just have their defense scale with level, though I don't think this solution works well for low-level players or those who flashback often.
    Looks good - I posted something very similar in another thread.
    Scaling resists like /SR would help a bit, and I wouldn't be against jonin getting like the /nin reconstruction or anything.....
  17. Lobster
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TamakiRevolution View Post
    70?! You're crazy....

    I did 10 the very first day, then it took me a week to do 2 more. Still have 30+ toons to get to eventually....
    I prefer to think of myself as "driven".

    <.<
  18. Lobster
    This may be obvious, but failing at x8 - or even x4 - missions, is no indicator of being "paper thin". You are performing well above the baseline - although I'd say any level 50 IO'd brute should be OK at x4 - depending on secondary and enemy group of course.

    So yeah, now that you have spent even more inf, you can solo content intended for 8 people.

    I think that your powerset combos in particular are not particularly synergistic (other than the end drain, which I don't find super useful in high end bruting), unless you take and use Lightning Clap, ELM provides nothing to offset ELA's weaknesses. Stone/ gives you soft control (I have a 50 sm/elm and most of his survivability comes from knockdown), DM gives you heals and minor controls, etc. I stopped playing my elm/ela in the 30s and moved over to the sm/elec & and elec/shield once this became evident. I think it's great for teaming and tfing but for solo content it just wasn't a combo I enjoyed.

    :P
  19. Lobster
    What a great thread, thank you!
    One thing that it says to me is that the devs actually did a pretty good job with balancing this system to the current market.... or the market has done a nice job of balancing itself to this system (not sure which!) - I'm a bit surprised, and more than a little impressed!
  20. Lobster
    I'm sure there are more powerful builds out there - mine doesn't use any purples for one - but I'm really, really happy with this build. I took it for its first spin on a 59min itf last night. The only time my end bar moved was when I was running sprint+darkest night (which I forgot to slot, so it had no end red!) in addition to the standard (which I never turn off): deflection, battle agility, AOO, Grant Cover, CJ, Tough & Weave.

    And he's defcapped of course. I think my health bar moved 3 times on the whole tf and I was semi-tanking it.

    Any thoughts on what, if anything I could to do improve while keeping my defcap and avoiding purples (I'm still relatively poor)? I'm thinking I could throw one of the procs in OwtS for some random, minute PSI res or something. I may also pull the slot out of AD - since I have so much global rech - but the stacked def debuff resist is nice (at least I think it stacks?). Still, I'll have my incarnate +rech for those moments...

    I will probably finish the 4 of LoTG set in Battle Agility just for completion's sake, when I can afford it.

    Also, once I finish my uncommon rech/heal, I'll probably see if I can squeeze some kind of set bonus into True Grit.

    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.90
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Socket Crash: Level 50 Magic Brute
    Primary Power Set: Electrical Melee
    Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Charged Brawl -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(3), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(5), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(5), T'Death-Dam%(7)
    Level 1: Deflection -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx(A), GftotA-Run+(7), GftotA-Def(9), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
    Level 2: Havoc Punch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(11), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(11), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), Mako-Dam%(15)
    Level 4: Battle Agility -- S'dpty-Def/EndRdx(A), S'dpty-Def(15), DefBuff-I(17), LkGmblr-Rchg+(17)
    Level 6: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), ResDam-I(19), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(19), Heal-I(21)
    Level 8: Thunder Strike -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(21), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(23), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Oblit-%Dam(25)
    Level 10: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx(27)
    Level 12: Boxing -- Acc(A)
    Level 14: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 16: Taunt -- Zinger-Dam%(A)
    Level 18: Chain Induction -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(29), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(31), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mako-Dam%(33)
    Level 20: Phalanx Fighting -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 22: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow(A)
    Level 24: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 26: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(A), Aegis-Psi/Status(27), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg(43), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Aegis-ResDam(45)
    Level 28: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), S'dpty-Def/Rchg(34), S'dpty-EndRdx/Rchg(34), S'dpty-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), S'dpty-Def(36), S'dpty-EndRdx(36)
    Level 30: Build Up -- GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(36), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(37), GSFC-Build%(37), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(37), GSFC-ToHit(39)
    Level 32: Lightning Rod -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(39), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Oblit-%Dam(40)
    Level 35: Shield Charge -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(42), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(42), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(43), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(43)
    Level 38: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A)
    Level 41: Gloom -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(46), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48)
    Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(50), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(50)
    Level 47: Grant Cover -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 49: Darkest Night -- DampS-Rchg/EndRdx(A), DampS-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(50)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Fury
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+(29)
    Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-EndMod(33), P'Shift-End%(33)



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  21. Lobster
    Seriously. I was thinking about what I would have done without Mids and it wasn't pretty.

    Also, TitanSentinel from Cohtitan, with its ability to grab your live build, is immensely helpful. I highly recommend checking it out.

    So far, my builds seem to pretty good too, especially for being done in a rush. I'm especially pleased with my elec/shield brute. Wow. Just wow. O.O. I seem to have botched my widow royally though... going to try a miracle proc and see if that helps.
  22. Lobster

    Nec as baseline?

    POST-ACTION

    So I was just thinking about masterminds (as I frequently do), and wondering if nec/ would be a good baseline for primaries. As in, all MM primaries should be at least that good, and perhaps not a whole lot better.

    My current thoughts on power rankings are as such:
    Note: This is independent of secondaries, vs. general enemy types, low level micromanagement, and all powers are slotted with SOs. I.E. as played by an "average player".

    1. Bots (with /mu)
    2. Demon/Thug (bots without /mu)
    3. Necro
    4. Merc
    5. Nin

    The merc vs. nin bit is debatable (with myself, yes I debate myself!), I only ranked merc higher because they tend to have the additional survivability of a ranged pet.

    Necro has always seemed "good enough" to me. The pets tend to be more vulnerable due to their melee nature, but the lich debuffs and the self heal tends to make up for that in the late game, where it counts.

    Bots, Demons & thugs are noticeably more powerful than nec to me with basic slotting BUT not hugely and gamebreakingly so.

    Bots with /mu is noticeably stronger than without.

    I'm not arguing for a nerf to the top three - but I wouldn't cry if we got it PROVIDING we got a matching buff to merc & nin.

    Yes, you can get hedge cases by pairing strong primaries with secondaries that are weak vs. specific encounter types or weak primaries with strong secondaries (/dark is the best example of this - nin/dark and merc/dark are completely playable imho).

    Thoughts?

    [edit:
    I suppose I should post my mm list so you can see where I'm coming from background wise:

    50 bot/dark, nec/dark, nec/pain
    44 thug/trap
    43 thug/ff
    40 nin/pois
    37 merc/ff, dem/pois, dem/therm
    36 thug/ta
    32 nin/storm, merc/storm, dem/dark
    28 merc/dark
    27 thug/dark
    24 dem/pain x3
    ]
  23. Lobster
    re: demons/pain: Yes, I have one of these as well (two?) and it works much, much better. This is because demons are strictly stronger than ninja imho. Almost no situation where ninja will do more damage/survivability/anything.

    re: single targets: definitely. As a nec or nin /pois you are doubly a single target specialist and indeed will excel there. Of course, if you are fighting things with large pbaoes or aoes, the ranged pet sets will probably outdo you, depending on how well you control the environment and pet movement. When I play my nin/pois I do run at ++/0 as well.
  24. Lobster
    I am not surprised to find a thread of this length on Merc improvements... I haven't gone through the whole thing yet - have any devs commented yet? PMs, mentions at meet and greets... anything. I have a /ff, /dark & /storm mercs and yeahhhhh, they could use some help.

    It's hard for me to say if they are strictly worse than ninja, who die like weeds, but their damage is definitely sub par. I need to try the double proc thing and see how much of a difference that makes, but judging by the comments here I don't think it will be that much.

    Lots of good ideas in the posts that I did read.

    *No need for slow LRM, replace it with something frequent and useful or massively buff the recharge - it doesn't seem strong enough to warrant it.
    *Spec Ops Rifle Butt->Bean Bag: Yes please! Why wasn't it this way to start?
    *Medic: the worst mm pet in the game, hands down. I'd rather have a 3rd soldier than him. Any suggestion for improving him is a good one. My addition to the pile: add a buff that is some combination of regen/+dmg/+res to his stimulant and increase the duration, allow him to keep it up on the entire squad & give him some kind of aoe heal (maybe something like the /pain regen auro to differentiate him from the /demons healing).



    Has something like adding Venom Grenade (half debuff strength) to spec ops been mentioned? This would give them a little bit of aoe as well as being a great damage buff for the set.
  25. Lobster
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by baron_inferno View Post
    Had a Ninja/Poison MM as my 3rd ever character. It didn't last past level 29. I ended up replacing it with a Thugs/Traps MM and have never looked back since. Though I don't know for certain but it sure feels like Ninjas have the worst AI of all the MM primaries regardless of all the patches through the years. I distinctly remember that back in those days, all they did was stand at ranged while chucking shurikens unless you forcefully move them into spawns. *Shakes head*
    Yah, nin/ is much better than it used to be. Wow. And it's still a little lackluster - mostly due to the standard mm AI issues, of course. On paper it looks great, and sometimes, when the stars align, it feels great too but... I still think it needs something else. I mean, when bots/ can have some of the best dps AND pets that heal AND bubble each other? Not to mention thugs & demons...

    In trying to think of something that would be a good fix and thematic... right now I'm thinking: boost T1 defense with each upgrade tier, give the T1 & T2 scaling resists like /SR, and give T2 Kuji-In Sha (reconstruction). IIRC Oni was pretty solid, although throwing Healing Flames onto him wouldn't hurt. Their damage is fine, but survivability is horrible.