Lost Ninja

Mr's data is still undefined, Miss's is now present.

Centering I hate I nearly always end up using tables with percentage width/height because it gets me semi where I want to be.

Oh and Matt Marvelous is spelt 'Mat' in the about section and 'Matt' in Miss's data section.

Also they mention a respec coupled to the patron power thing, will this replace the level 44+ respec or be as well as?

And yeah I don't want to miss out content but none of the patron poweres that I can see offer any benefit to my character, if I could get a patron and not take the powers I might go for it but my reading of the system is that with a patron you get the powers.

My Bots/Dark is around 38/39 at the moment and looking at the epics for CoV likely to stay there. I started off with a staminaless build but also found it hard to keep up the healing though I use it when needed not for the tohit debuff.

My build: (comments in red)
Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
Name: Schizophreniac - Current Build
01 :: Battle Drones -> Acc Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg
01 :: Twilight Grasp -> Acc Heal Heal Heal Rechg - As stated use this for the Heal not for anything else, I might stick an extra recharge in when I have some more slots.
02 :: Tar Patch -> Rechg Rechg Rechg - Three recharges it won't stack without hasten but as one goes down I can put another up, may get a slow if I get more slots.
04 :: Darkest Night -> TH_DeBuf TH_DeBuf TH_DeBuf EndRdx EndRdx - This is a must have and before stamina does need the extra end rdx but two are fine with stamina.
06 :: Recall Friend -> IntRdx - Would much prefer to go down the fly route but with pets getting stuck so often recal friend is all but essential.
08 :: Equip Robot -> EndRdx - Needs nothing else.
10 :: Assault -> EndRdx - Would take this and tactics earlier if I could, immensly useful.
12 :: Protector Bots -> Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg EndRdx DisDur - Prot bots are better primarily as fighters than heal/buffers. Thus slotting for damage is good, and past lvl32 upgrade having a disorient duration is good as it means the photon grenade dirorient stacks. End Rdx helps them with END issues because they have so many attacks plus the heal they rapidly run out of end.
14 :: Teleport -> EndRdx Range Range Range - As said would prefer fly but this'll have to do.
16 :: Shadow Fall -> EndRdx EndRdx EndRdx - As I tend to use this for the stealth component over the resistance component I haven't slotted for res buff yet, I will do eventually.
18 :: Tactics -> EndRdx EndRdx TH_Buf TH_Buf TH_Buf - If you don't take this power go and roll a brute.
20 :: Fearsome Stare -> Acc Acc Rechg Rechg - Cone Fear power, so nice to see a spawn run onto Tar Patch then I fear them so the can't move have little defense, no accuracy and are wetting themselves, good thing too as my bots are about to bring them a world of hurt.
22 :: Hover -> Fly - My connection isn't brilliant and with big zones I use TP alot, this lets me rest mid journey or beat the lag, I will get fly at some point too.
24 :: Swift -> Run
26 :: Assault Bot -> Acc Dmg Dmg Dmg DisDur DisDur - Went for the extra disorient for this one due to the disorient inherant within the LRM (level32 upgrade) used in conjunction with the Protbots photon grenade all but the toughest oponents get drunk.
28 :: Hurdle -> Jump
30 :: Stamina -> EndMod EndMod EndMod
32 :: Upgrade Robot -> Rechg Rechg Rechg EndRdx
35 :: Petrifying Gaze -> Acc Rechg Rechg Hold - It needs more sots but a single target hold is brilliant for taking out the Warwolf that just ran through the Tar Patch into melee range or the gostie that is doing a runner. Also good for surgically taking out Earth Thorns before the use quick sand.
38 :: Dark Servant -> Acc Rechg Rechg Rechg Immob Immob - Not fully slotted yet, so far so good, and I will probably change the slots as I use it more. Never had one before so don't know its full use yet.

What didn't I take?

Pulse Rifle Blast - Pointless on an MM, I don't want agro period, I get enough from Darkest Night and Tar Patch, I don't need more.
Pulse Rifle Burst - See above.
Photon Grenade - And again.
Repair - I have a good heal (380~ at the moment), the only advantage for a bots/dark to have this power would be the ability to give your pets some end back. As this buffs both health and end.
Howling Twilight - Would take if I had a power spare to allow me to take, as it is probably take it at lvl49.
Black Hole - Completely worthless power, wouldn't take it if it was free cost no end, didn't need slotting and I got it for nothing. Oh and if it provided a badge.

Obviously take the above with a pinch of salt the build suits me and my play style, I primarily play in small teams or solo, I tend to play with a higher than default difficulty setting and I'm not the fastest player in the world. I play for fun and this build allows me to enjoy the build. I could possibly get by with out the fitness pool allowing me to get some more utility pools Presense is good for Bots/Dark giving two more fear powers, but having tried that I wasn't that impressed.

-edit- because the board posted rather than previewed before i had finished writing.

Question: If I don't want to be a lackey for one of this underpowered Arachnos idiots can I just take normal power choices after level40? Because if not I can't really see myself playing CoV anymore. None of the above fit into my character concept from being a lackey to a higher power to gaining powers from my boss. I might carry on if and when going rogue appears but if this is the level of creativity that is used while designing 'better' content I will remain underenthused. At least the ancillary pools in CoH mainly work.

I got to about 25 on BS before thinking Why? I left the character alone for several weeks and now am back playing her. BS is all about damage so its different to all the others IMO. I have played DM to fifty and it is a very controllerish set, but fun, BS for me gives me a whole different perspective, I can do things with BS that DM can't do.

Siphon life I didn't take the first time, when I leveled past it because Regen was better in those days (I3), I specced into it with the I6 respec because I thought I would need it. And as previously mentioned I hardly ever use it, given anoth respec I would drop it (bear in mind I only have regen healing powers no Health or aid self) I can think of many other more useful powers to take.

Touch of Fear I also missed the first time round, now I wouldn't be without it for the world, immensly useful in PvE and PvP not only does it fear the target (bosses take several applications) it also debuffs the accuracy meaning even if they aren't trembling in fear they may still be unable to hit you. Its also fun to ToF AVs into fear Infernal is a walk over when he's cowering

IMO: (using FF 1.5, WinXP, 1280x1024)

Flash Not against you or the design just don't like flash.

Slick very slick the style is nice and uncomplicatedand no flashing flash which is an immense annoyance.

The loading screen could do with some form of progress bar or similar just so you know that its actually doing something. (Similar to the loading message used elsewhere.)

I like the about box, I'd prefer it a bit larger/wider and rather than a fixed left margin make it dynamic. The box is small so the huge left hand margin is wasted unless its for future use.

The news box is too narrow, it either needs to be wider or the titles need to be made to wrap better.

The family! Undefined? I assume that this is still waiting for data and it looks like it could be quite good, I'll wait and see.

Overall I am extremely jealous as I can't do anything this good.

Well done.

MA Doesn't have any draw anim at all yet has an accuracy bonus.

IMO All attacks that have a draw weapon anim should have an accuracy bonus, even if the overall set doesn't have one.

I understood the lack of a 2nd bubble was an unintentional bug and would be fixed. With the vast array of game breaking bugs that exist as well I won't hold my breath for the fix.

Hmm interesting as MA is supposed to be 1.10 thats good I always wondered why kicking someone in the goolies was more accurate than hitting them with a lump of iron.

Still Claws and Spines should both have an accuracy boost due to draw time. Hell MA shouldn't have one at all.

Got a BS/Rgn.

Not keen on Katana.

How about Claws?

Spines like the idea hate the look, if I was meant to be a hedgehog I'd be living in a hedge!

[ QUOTE ]
Stealth or Invisibility.

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Doesn't work, if the ambushes agro on you they will always attack you, only way round that is Phase shift of PFF neither of which I have And the ambushes in Heists are the main reason I have avoided them since about lvl12-38 I do them if I need a new contact not otherwise. My Brute finds them fun.

Up to now I've pretty much always gone regen, I like the lack of toggles and until recently the sheer uberness

But I want to try something different, not so much as a character build or anything, but something that has power but isn't regen. I've tried SR before and not been a fan, I already have a DM/DA which is slow (played my first char as DM/DA to 26).

So I'm looking at Inv, what are the pros/cons of Inv and what is the best Primary to try with it?

Same here got it with I6, and have used it maybe four times since. Actually only use it when fighting Vamps as then I can suck their life away when they do it to me.

It migh have a use with SR but regen is much better off without it and either set (DM/BS) would benefit from a better attack or utility power. The other thing to remember is it has to hit to be of any use, in PvE that isn't an issue you can use it on a minion, but in PvP you need to slot it and I can garantee that you will have better uses for you slots than this power.

About the only time I would ever take it is as a throwaway lvl49 power, though personally I'd take revive at 49 if I had nothing else to choose.

I did Infernal with two Kins ages ago I3/I4 and every player in the eight man team had a full buff bar, all the way across a 1280x1024 @ 80% screen. The game sure is boring now.

There is if I remember correctly a keybind that will allow you to preform a 180 degree turn. Can't be bothered to look it up at the moment. But if you used that you would be facing the door and outside the click box.

PLayed both, DM to 50 and BS to 32+, both as regen.

DM is very good because you can do a bit of everything, you have a immobilize/slow in Midnight Grasp (slows Bosses that don't get immobilized). You have an extremely useful fear attack in Touch of Fear. You have a PBAoE that does some damage, debuffs accuracy and buffs your accuracy and damage. You also have an end recovery power. Problem with that is with all the extra stuff you are rather short on real damage. Thats not to say that you don't have any, mainly because in the PvE game Negative energy is hardly resisted, so you are useful, good to solo and pretty good in a team. Oh and avoid Siphon Life its pants.

BS on the other hand has no real other function but damage, and it does damage very well. Two cones one wide one narrow and one AoE make it fairly versatile, very good for dropping bosses and densely packed groups. And even now at 32 with less than optimal slotting I can do stupid amounts of damage. Bad side to BS is the lethal damage that it does, most resisted damage type in the game and while this is supposedly being looked at in I7, I don't know if that will make a big difference. Its also slow, the attacks take a long time to animate and the chain feels disjointed, quite often you use an attack then hang around for the animation to end before queuing the next attack. Its also considered end heavy, though how badly that will effect a regen is debatable, personally I took stamina (one slot) at 26 not having needed it before then. Hasten on the other hand is IMO pretty much essential, especially as the three best attacks are slow recharges.

Don't really have an issue with it to be honest, it gives a little bit of fun to the most annoying missions in the game. Now that might be because I have shadow fall so I can summon my pets relativly unmolested. The narrow doors further in or the fact that the ambushes ignore stealth are more of an issue to me.

MIne do fine, I use this system quite abit, leave my pets somewhere, normally out of sight and run of to find stuff for them to kill. Now true I try and get back to them before they actually have to do anywork but if I don't they don't have any real issues. To be honest though I wouldn't do this unless I had buffed them first, and I'll give them a tar patch to slow the baddies down. Heck I've even been know to drop insps onto the T2 & 3 pets.

Which one am I most likely to get a team through?

Have loads of alts except tanks, and even some spare slots. (1 on each account IIRC)

As ever @Lost Ninja & @Escatologist

Bet its because they have to have a monkey vet the site to check for material that shouldn't be on there. Though how cold front have managed to stay on the list with all the adverts for inf and accounts I'll never know.

Okay I have written two parts of a longer story, they aren't directly related to city of heroes/villains as such but are related. Links to parts 1 & 2 can be found below as well as a link to some back ground info.

Part 1 of To Be A Star

Part 2 of To Be A Star

Supporting information.

Warning: The overall theme to the story is of Gender Transformation, (TG) and as such while it currently contains no sex or erotica, nor will it as planned, some people may be offended by such tales. If you don't like this sort of thing don't read it.

The def in shadow fall doesn't buff the stealth aspect only the defense due to being stealthed. Or in other words you will be seen just as easily with three slots of def as none.

Gideon puts it best.

A lot of teams I have been on seem to be either let everyone do their job the way they see fit as long as it isn't detrimental to the team. Or everyone has to play the way the leader sees fit or they'll be kicked. Perpetuating the myth that MMs are CoVs tanks just makes the latter more sure that their idea is correct.

That all said in a team I'm quite happy to use my bots as a rear guard so as to allow others to escape from a teamwipe situation. However I find them to be far better in an offensive role than a defensive role, especially if they are all fully buffed. In that situation I'd be more inclined to just try the alpha strike option, if we win the team are in no danger if we lose the agro is on me, and I can escape quite easily. (I normally hide in plain sight, they all think I'm dead...)

As in several other powers I'll slot dam res into shadow fall when I have spare slots, I tried a build with just the three slots but with Dam Res and in long battles I ened up having to drop Shadow fall becasue of end issues, mainly due to spamming twilight grasp and my hold/fears.

As said I haven't got that far yet but my reasoning is if I have acc debuff it'll stack with tar patch and darkest night, whereas if I have good immobilize I can hold a set of mobs in a tar patch where my bots will kill them. It may be when I get to 40 I'll split the slots between the two not sure now though.