Madam_Enigma

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can you cap def on a crab??? has anyone seen a crap tank ?? if its possible i would love to try it. that more my play style any way. i dont care how the crab legs looks as long as the build is solid.

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Prob can soft cap crab defense, at least for ranged. As for tanking, forget about it. They do some nice damage, and get a mix of defense and resistance with decent mez protection though.

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Forget about it? One of my friends has a soft-capped Crab with Tough for over 50% S/L resist and a good 40% for the others. Also has perma Serum for +80% HP. That's a crazy-durable character and has tanked numerous AVs for us across several SFs.

And if by "decent mez protection" you mean "mag 14.4 which only Tanks get; more than Stalkers, Scrappers, Brutes, Widows, and Banes," then yes.

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Without dipping into Presence pool powers (which I have trouble convincing myself to do) crabs don't really have any good ways to hold aggro IMO. They do pretty good damage. Not great damage, but pretty good. The pets are sweet, but sometimes squishy and are on long timers. All told, I'd treat a crab more as a shock trooper like their suppose to be, and not as a tank. Charge in with channel gun blazing, then rip them a few new holes. Dead mobs don't need to be tanked.

And if you REALLY need something tanked, tank it with omega maneuver.

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I'd rather be a real rogue and play both sides against the middle. That's what I'm hoping going rogue will be instead of the whole switching side stuff.

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Well you can stop hoping because it has been confirmed a long time ago that it is actual side-switching.

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Sigh, this is why I never bother to roleplay in MMOs. The roles are already set for you, all you have to do is let the storyline prod you alone. Well, I guess when the time comes, I'll just have to decide whether blue side farms and BM will be enough to entice me to switch sides. Well, definately not my SoAs, there's just something unnatural about that.

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Well you could always just stay in Praetoria and ride the line between black and white. From the way its been explained it sounds like you build up to either going good or bad, but there is a middle ground that only exsits in Praetoria.

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That's how I'm envisioning it too. Some of my characters will turn from villain to hero as part of their evolving storyline. Others will go from hero to villain (and may go back and forth) as part of their storyline. Still others I'll play by ear. I'll take missions depending on RP personality and let the chips fall where they will.

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Like when I answered Trout Defense as the first reply?

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Aye, although I'd wonder how trout defense would work.

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wouldnt deflected be ranged attacks and dodges would be aoe/melee?

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Are you telling me you can't dodge a ranged attack?

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Realisticly? No, you can't. If you 'dodged', it means you found cover before the bullet was actually fired. It moves too fast to be dodged after being fired.

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We ARE Super Heroes, you know.

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I know, and even most superheroes have trouble dodging bullets. Spiderman does it, but he gets early warning. Daredevil has been shown to deflect a bullet with a billy club but that's highly unlikely. Flash has been shown to dodge a bullet, but then it's also taken pains to show that when he's in full speed mode the world slows down for him, and he has to go into lower speeds to do stuff like catch glass in order to protect people. Most super heroes aren't depicted as dodging bullets so much as wearing armor or just plain trying NOT to be in the line of fire to begin with.

Got a possible IOed out build for my thug/trick arrow mastermind I'd like to get advice on. But first some comments on my goals. I'm trying to get more personal defense, as much aoe and ranged as I can muster without sacrificing pet damage or accuracy too much. Don't really care about soft capping though. Also need plenty of recharge in most of my secondary to ensure their up when needed. Cost wont be much of an issue since I'll likely start IOing out the build at 50.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Level 50 Magic Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Thugs
Secondary Power Set: Trick Arrow
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Call Thugs -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(3), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), BldM'dt-Acc(36), BldM'dt-Dmg(36)
Level 1: Entangling Arrow -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Flash Arrow -- DefEgo-ToHitDeb(A), DefEgo-ToHitDeb/Rchg(33), DefEgo-RecDeb%(33)
Level 4: Glue Arrow -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(5), RechRdx-I(7), Slow-I(7), Slow-I(9), Slow-I(11)
Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(9)
Level 8: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 10: Ice Arrow -- Lock-Acc/Hold(A), Lock-Acc/Rchg(11), Lock-Rchg/Hold(13), Lock-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(17), Lock-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(37), Lock-%Hold(37)
Level 12: Call Enforcer -- CmdPres-Acc/Dmg(A), U'Loyal-Dmg/EndRdx(13), U'Loyal-Acc/Dmg(15), CmdPres-Dmg/EndRdx(15), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(21)
Level 14: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), RgnTis-Regen+(50)
Level 16: Poison Gas Arrow -- LgcRps-Acc/Rchg(A), LgcRps-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(19), LgcRps-EndRdx/Sleep(19), LgcRps-Acc/EndRdx(46), LgcRps-Sleep/Rng(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 18: Gang War -- BldM'dt-Acc(A), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(23), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(23), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(34), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(34), BldM'dt-Dmg(34)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%(A), Adrenal-EndMod(21), Adrenal-EndMod/Rchg(29)
Level 22: Acid Arrow -- Achilles-DefDeb(A), Achilles-DefDeb/Rchg(25), Achilles-ResDeb%(25), Acc-I(31)
Level 24: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A)
Level 26: Call Bruiser -- BldM'dt-Acc(A), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(27), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(27), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx(31), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), BldM'dt-Dmg(37)
Level 28: Disruption Arrow -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(31)
Level 30: Super Jump -- Jump-I(A)
Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(33)
Level 35: Oil Slick Arrow -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(40), Det'tn-Dmg/Rng(40), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(43)
Level 38: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(39), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(39), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), RedFtn-Def(45), RedFtn-EndRdx(45)
Level 41: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(42), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(42), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Build%(43)
Level 44: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 47: EMP Arrow -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(48), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(48), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(48), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(50), BasGaze-Slow%(50)
Level 49: Acrobatics -- EndRdx-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
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[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]10.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]3.13% Defense(Smashing)[*]3.13% Defense(Lethal)[*]16.6% Defense(Fire)[*]16.6% Defense(Cold)[*]14.4% Defense(Energy)[*]14.4% Defense(Negative)[*]3.44% Defense(Melee)[*]22.2% Defense(Ranged)[*]24.7% Defense(AoE)[*]4% Enhancement(Sleep)[*]2.5% Enhancement(Held)[*]3% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]12.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]5% FlySpeed[*]15.1 HP (1.88%) HitPoints[*]5% JumpHeight[*]5% JumpSpeed[*]MezResist(Confused) 5%[*]MezResist(Held) 7.2%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 8.3%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 6.65%[*]MezResist(Stun) 9.95%[*]MezResist(Terrorized) 5%[*]11.5% (0.19 End/sec) Recovery[*]10% (0.34 HP/sec) Regeneration[*]1.26% Resistance(Fire)[*]1.26% Resistance(Cold)[*]1.88% Resistance(Energy)[*]1.88% Resistance(Toxic)[*]5% RunSpeed[*]1% XPDebtProtection[/list]------------
[u]Set Bonuses:[u]
[u]Blood Mandate[u]
(Call Thugs)<ul type="square">[*] 1.5% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[*] 1.88% Defense(Fire,Cold), 0.94% Defense(AoE)[*] MezResist(Stun) 1.65%[*] 3.75% Defense(AoE), 1.88% Defense(Fire), 1.88% Defense(Cold)[*] 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Deflated Ego[u]
(Flash Arrow)<ul type="square">[*] 3% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*] 1.5% DamageBuff(All)[/list][u]Lockdown[u]
(Ice Arrow)<ul type="square">[*] 3% DamageBuff(All)[*] 2.5% Enhancement(Held)[*] MezResist(Held) 2.2%[*] 2.5% Defense(AoE), 1.25% Defense(Fire), 1.25% Defense(Cold)[*] 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Commanding Presence[u]
(Call Enforcer)<ul type="square">[*] 1.5% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[/list][u]Unquestioning Loyalty[u]
(Call Enforcer)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 1.1%[/list][u]Lethargic Repose[u]
(Poison Gas Arrow)<ul type="square">[*] 4% Enhancement(Sleep)[*] 1.88% Defense(Energy,Negative), 0.94% Defense(Ranged)[*] 1.88% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 0.94% Defense(Melee)[*] 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Blood Mandate[u]
(Gang War)<ul type="square">[*] 1.5% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[*] 1.88% Defense(Fire,Cold), 0.94% Defense(AoE)[*] MezResist(Stun) 1.65%[*] 3.75% Defense(AoE), 1.88% Defense(Fire), 1.88% Defense(Cold)[*] 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Adrenal Adjustment[u]
(Stamina)<ul type="square">[*] 1% (0.02 End/sec) Recovery[/list][u]Achilles' Heel[u]
(Acid Arrow)<ul type="square">[*] 1.5% DamageBuff(All)[*] 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Blood Mandate[u]
(Call Bruiser)<ul type="square">[*] 1.5% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[*] 1.88% Defense(Fire,Cold), 0.94% Defense(AoE)[*] MezResist(Stun) 1.65%[*] 3.75% Defense(AoE), 1.88% Defense(Fire), 1.88% Defense(Cold)[*] 3.75% Defense(Ranged), 1.88% Defense(Energy), 1.88% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Detonation[u]
(Oil Slick Arrow)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%[*] 1.88% Resistance(Energy)[*] 1% XPDebtProtection[*] 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)[*] 1.88% Resistance(Toxic)[/list][u]Red Fortune[u]
(Maneuvers)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%[*] 1.26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[*] 2% DamageBuff(All)[*] 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*] 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control[u]
(Tactics)<ul type="square">[*] 5% JumpSpeed, 5% JumpHeight, 5% FlySpeed, 5% RunSpeed[*] 15.1 HP (1.88%) HitPoints[*] 2.5% (0.04 End/sec) Recovery[*] 2.5% DamageBuff(All)[*] 2.5% Defense(Melee), 1.25% Defense(Lethal), 1.25% Defense(Smashing), 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative), 2.5% Defense(AoE), 1.25% Defense(Fire), 1.25% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Basilisk's Gaze[u]
(EMP Arrow)<ul type="square">[*] 2.5% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1.25% Defense(Ranged)[*] 2% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[*] 7.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*] Status Resistance 5%[*] 10% (0.34 HP/sec) Regeneration[/list]

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I would have to say Electric is the least played here but the other 3 are not fair behind in rarity.

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Electric support is probably the least played simply because it doesn't exist.

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I didn't realize Defenders have an Electric support primary.

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I think that's the point. Electric Support is the least played primary because it does not exist. Thus no one plays it.

I'm going to try something else though, gonna see if you can remove it at Facemaker while on a non-crab build. Meh, want to alter a costume anyway. Personally I think the backpack is cool. Just don't want my wolf spider build with it.

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wouldnt deflected be ranged attacks and dodges would be aoe/melee?

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Are you telling me you can't dodge a ranged attack?

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Realisticly? No, you can't. If you 'dodged', it means you found cover before the bullet was actually fired. It moves too fast to be dodged after being fired.

As far as I recall, FF doesn't give psi defense at all. Granted, many psi powers are also ranged, melee, or aoe flagged so that's less of an issue. But back to the topic of not wanting buffs, there are legitimate reasons. RP can be one, and people aren't required to give a reason when they ask not to be buffed.

I know my WS once got an empath to go "WTF?!" when I asked not to be healed unless critical. They understood part way into the mission, but they still didn't understand me NOT wanting healing.

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When mezzes "fail" to mez you as you describe, their duration has been reduced so heavily that after all things accounted for(Lag), the duration simply wasn't long enough to be noticeable, but would have turned off an Offensive toggle regardless. Knockback might be susceptible to simply not taking effect, but that's because knockback enhancement boosts magnitudes and not duration.

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Great idea, except for something else you should know. This was BEFORE the "defensive toggles don't shut off while mezzed" change. I would get hit by the hold, my patron smash/lethal resistance toggle would stay on, and I would move about just fine.

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Heh. I don't think we even live on the same planet as far as how we make builds. But it's a big universe, and as long as you're having fun, that's all that really matters. I suppose we min-maxers DO tend to go WAY beyond what is necessary to handle 99% of the content, and then assume that everyone wants to be similarly pointlessly overpowered when they ask for build advice.

Still, to at least explain the min-max powergamer point of view, or at least my take on it...

- You can put out more damage overall with a few well-slotted attacks than many poorly-slotted attacks.
- Your hypothetical 91% accuracy vs. even, 78% vs. +1 drops to 47% against +4, and that's assuming no defense or debuffs. We wouldn't be satisfied with all those misses cutting into our damage output when hunting uplevel.
- 30% defense gets hit twice as often as 40% defense gets hit twice as often as 45% defense. Since it is easy to hit 45% defense on a Super Reflexes, we tend to view it as all or nothing. At even slightly less than 45% defense, you're being hit WAY more often than you would with just a little more effort put into your defense.
- We tend to run repetitive attack chains, over and over, the same forever, so there's little chance of us forgetting a buff attack like Follow Up.
- It seems like many min-max powergamers don't often exemplar, and therefore aren't concerned with having a full set of lower level attacks. Many are also veterans with veteran attacks to fill in the gaps when they do exemplar.

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Yeah, I can't ascribe to that mentality. My tankers and defenders LOVE when they start getting multiple attack options for their chain. I crave the variety of having a bunch of attacks. Sure my dark/rad defender CAN get by with just two or three attacks chained to infinity, but that's boring. Even if one attack I've got does 'crap' damage, aka low damage, I'll still throw it out there now and then if it looks cool. To me more options is better. I may not get as great of dps, but I have tons of fun, and still do high dps.

I'd also be hard pressed to tell the difference between being hit 5% of the time and 6% of the time (modified by enemy ACC modifier of course). As for fighting +5's, why bother? That's more trouble then it's worth. Your damage gets reduced big time, debuffs don't work very well against them, even triple slotting ACC will miss fairly often... And any build that has to face +5's to be challenged sounds mind numbingly boring to play.

I exempler frequently. My friends all have lowbie characters since I play far more often. Since I love teaming with them, I frequently exempler down. I also do a lot of flashback missions too. Since Madam Enigma is nearly out of contact missions, flashbacks are one of my main things I could do until AE. As such, when I respec I gotta pay careful attention to when I take powers. Otherwise I gimp myself badly for teaming with friends

I can understand the mindset of power gamers, I just don't see why it's nessecary for most to assume it's a mandatory playstyle. Actually, the IOed out build I'm working on is kind of a 'for fun' thing. I don't expect I'll use the build much. I just want to see if I can do it without altering slots too much. Might dust it off for GM/AV fights though. Elude crashes are the pits.

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Also, consider this. If you have mag 1 mez protection (default), and the enemy uses a mag 3 hold it will hold you, right? Not if their debuffed by /poison. That hold is now a mag 0.81 hold. A single application wont affect you. Malta stun grenades seem to be mag 4 or higher base.

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Too bad it doesn't work that way.

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Too bad it actually does. I've seen mobs FAIL to mez because of using my debuffs. They hit, I see the mez icon, but it's mag got debuffed enough that I'm not effected. I've also seen KB attacks which fail to cause knockback, or even knock down after I debuff, but did before I hit them with the debuff.

Mine wasn't on a scrapper, or on live servers Mine happened back in issue 4 while Ish 5 was still being tested. I was logged into a lowbie TA/A defender on test server in kings row when I saw Paladin for the first time. Mind you, my char is the minimum height at the time so four foot nothing. I'm looking at this thing in awe.

As I stand there staring at Paladin I turn to my friend who's watching me play and go "Wow... he's big. He's big... he is bi...." *plink* "Uhm... Did I just fire an arrow at that thing?"

My friend: "Yup, RUN!"

I dutifully try running, but it's no use. The GM is keeping up, and is blasting me in the back regularly. Finally I tell my friend "F this" and start attacking. I actually got Paladin down by 1/4 health on my own... Then the dang thing stepped on me.

Actually, my normal level is 4, but for EB's I may lower it to 1 or 2 depending on which one. I prefer +1's with the odd +2 instead of +2's or higher constantly. More inf/xp/whatever while playing when I want that. If just running missions to have fun I run at whichever difficulty I want.

My 'main' build is one that only uses common IO's and SO's atm. About stacking followup or killing my dps without it. That assumes I constantly reapply it every time the power's up. I keep forgetting about it.

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FWIW, if there isn't another player involved, yes it is soloing. Shivans, heavies, whatever. It's still soloing. Just not as impressive.

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This is also a perfectly valid way of looking at things. It's just a matter of opinion.

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I personally say "If no other player is involved, you soloed it" too. If you gotta use temp pets fine. If you use NPC helper mobs in the mission, fine. You still soloed it. Otherwise you'd be saying that a mastermind who defeats an AV using their full assortment of henchmen isn't soloing it since they had npc help.

Yeah, I am looking for advice before I actually start buying the IO's. I'd set out messing with it to see if I could soft cap with my current slot setup. This is as close as I could get. May look into putting Zyphers into my movement powers though, see what that does.

Ok, did some tweaking. This is what I came up with.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/

[u]Click this DataLink to open the build![u]

Madam Enigma: Level 50 Science Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Claws
Secondary Power Set: Super Reflexes
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Swipe -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(3), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9)
Level 1: Focused Fighting -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(9), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(11), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFtn-Def(34), RedFtn-EndRdx(50)
Level 2: Strike -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11)
Level 4: Focused Senses -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(13), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(15), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RedFtn-Def(34), RedFtn-EndRdx(46)
Level 6: Slash -- T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(A), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(7), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(7), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(13), T'Death-Dam%(45), T'Death-Acc/Dmg(46)
Level 8: Agile -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(15), DefBuff-I(17), Ksmt-ToHit+(50)
Level 10: Practiced Brawler -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17)
Level 12: Swift -- Run-I(A), Run-I(39), Run-I(40)
Level 14: Health -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(37), Heal-I(37)
Level 16: Dodge -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(19), DefBuff-I(21)
Level 18: Follow Up -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(19), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(21), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(23), Rec'dRet-Pcptn(42), Rec'dRet-ToHit(50)
Level 20: Quickness -- Run-I(A), Run-I(37), Run-I(39)
Level 22: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(23), EndMod-I(25)
Level 24: Focus -- Ruin-Acc/Dmg(A), Ruin-Dmg/EndRdx(25), Ruin-Dmg/Rchg(27), Ruin-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(42), Ruin-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(43), Dev'n-Hold%(43)
Level 26: Eviscerate -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx(27), M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), M'Strk-Dmg/Rchg(31), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), M'Strk-Acc/EndRdx(45)
Level 28: Lucky -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(29), DefBuff-I(31)
Level 30: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(33)
Level 32: Shockwave -- Acc-I(A)
Level 35: Evasion -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(36), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFtn-Def(40), RedFtn-EndRdx(43)
Level 38: Elude -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(42), Zephyr-ResKB(45), S'dpty-EndRdx/Rchg(46)
Level 41: Conserve Power -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 44: Focused Accuracy -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 47: Laser Beam Eyes -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(48)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A), Run-I(39), Run-I(40)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
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[u]Set Bonus Totals:[u]<ul type="square">[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Fire)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Cold)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Energy)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Negative)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)[*]8.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)[*]15.9% Defense(Smashing)[*]15.9% Defense(Lethal)[*]3.44% Defense(Fire)[*]3.44% Defense(Cold)[*]7.81% Defense(Energy)[*]7.81% Defense(Negative)[*]12.2% Defense(Melee)[*]11.9% Defense(Ranged)[*]6.88% Defense(AoE)[*]15% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*]7% Enhancement(Accuracy)[*]95.4 HP (7.12%) HitPoints[*]Knockback (Mag -4)[*]Knockup (Mag -4)[*]MezResist(Held) 2.75%[*]MezResist(Immobilize) 17.6%[*]MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%[*]MezResist(Stun) 1.65%[*]MezResist(Terrorized) 1.65%[*]20% Perception[*]2% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[*]4.73% Resistance(Fire)[*]4.73% Resistance(Cold)[*]1% XPDebtProtection[/list]------------
[u]Set Bonuses:[u]
[u]Kinetic Combat[u]
(Swipe)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%[*] 20.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints[*] 3.75% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Melee)[/list][u]Red Fortune[u]
(Focused Fighting)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%[*] 1.26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[*] 2% DamageBuff(All)[*] 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*] 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Kinetic Combat[u]
(Strike)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%[*] 20.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints[*] 3.75% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Melee)[/list][u]Red Fortune[u]
(Focused Senses)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%[*] 1.26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[*] 2% DamageBuff(All)[*] 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*] 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Touch of Death[u]
(Slash)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%[*] 20.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints[*] 2.5% DamageBuff(All)[*] MezResist(Held) 2.75%[*] 3.75% Defense(Melee), 1.88% Defense(Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Smashing)[/list][u]Kinetic Combat[u]
(Follow Up)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.75%[*] 20.1 HP (1.5%) HitPoints[*] 3.75% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 1.88% Defense(Melee)[/list][u]Rectified Reticle[u]
(Follow Up)<ul type="square">[*] 1.88% Defense(Smashing,Lethal), 0.94% Defense(Melee)[*] 20% Perception[/list][u]Ruin[u]
(Focus)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Terrorized) 1.65%[*] 15.1 HP (1.12%) HitPoints[*] 1% XPDebtProtection[*] 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)[/list][u]Multi Strike[u]
(Eviscerate)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%[*] 0.95% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[*] MezResist(Stun) 1.65%[*] 1.88% Defense(AoE), 0.94% Defense(Fire), 0.94% Defense(Cold)[*] 1.88% Defense(Melee), 0.94% Defense(Lethal), 0.94% Defense(Smashing)[/list][u]Red Fortune[u]
(Evasion)<ul type="square">[*] MezResist(Immobilize) 2.2%[*] 1.26% Resistance(Fire,Cold)[*] 2% DamageBuff(All)[*] 5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)[*] 2.5% Defense(Ranged), 1.25% Defense(Energy), 1.25% Defense(Negative)[/list][u]Blessing of the Zephyr[u]
(Elude)<ul type="square">[*] 3.13% Defense(Ranged), 1.56% Defense(Energy), 1.56% Defense(Negative)[*] 3.13% Defense(AoE), 1.56% Defense(Fire), 1.56% Defense(Cold)[*] Knockback Protection (Mag -4)[/list][u]Thunderstrike[u]
(Laser Beam Eyes)<ul type="square">[*] 2% (0.03 End/sec) Recovery[*] 2.5% Defense(Energy,Negative), 1.25% Defense(Ranged)[*] 7% Enhancement(Accuracy)[/list]
This one has 48.8 melee defense, 48.5 ranged defense, and 43.6 aoe defense. AOE isn't soft capped, but it shouldn't matter too much. I'll likely move the 4th slot in elude (the one still with the serendipity enhancement) out and put it in maneuvers (another Def Buff). Focused Accuracy will be mostly for things I need a bit more to-hit for (or if I need to-hit debuff resistance). And Assault would be purely for PvP (if I do it with this build). That would put my aoe defense up to 44% while allowing me to keep my movement rate. In fact I'd be boosting my eluded movement rate.

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actully pets still do stay alive and arnt hostile its called gang war ive died and had gang war finish off an av that had 1 tick of helth left it was very satisfying and when i woke back up they didnt follow me any more but they didnt atk either so its not that hard to do and yes they would be weaker without you there and not as good but thats why they follow you cuz ur thier mm and you make them stronger y else would a dozen ppl follow you inot a battle of death..now a new power that gave them vengnce when u died would be great

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Gang War however aren't controllable. They aren't perma pets either. They are temp summons which stick around for X length of time then despawn. I can easily see henchmen becoming hostile to the MM that 'owns' them after zoning. Why? Because if the PLAYER gets confused all the henchmen start attacking the player.

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Getting either one of those should more than solve your endurance problems. Getting Adrenalin Boost just tells you to stop using Dark Regen at all because now you've got the hp/sec of a non-IH regen Scrapper to go with those luverly defenses and stun effects.

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Oh yes... Just wish I could get them more often :P

Pre-20 I got invited to plenty of teams with empaths, none of them understood the value of things like Fort and the two auras. Now, my DM/DA never gets invited to teams with empaths. I've teamed with everything but empathy now. Then again, I'd also kept getting invited to Synapse TF's where the team leader got 2 invuln tanks and 2 other scrappers (both /invuln) and expected them to tank Clockwork King. Yeah right. I would consistently end up tanking CWK for them since the tankers were going down FAST and the /invuln scrappers would see this and hide around the corner and out of the fight..

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Mine loves empaths more, but not for healing. Mine loves the +recovery power (which I keep forgetting the name of). As strong of a +recovery boost, but without the annoying +speed. Sure you don't get +recharge with it, but IMO +recharge is a double edged sword. If your already having end issues it can exasperate them. I know on my DM/DA scrapper I like speed boost at times, but sometimes I notice it doesn't really slow down the endurance bleed as much as I'd want.

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Empathy has 2 +recov buffs, both of them stronger than Speed Boost: Recovery Aura and Adrenalin Boost. Recovery Aura (of which you are probably referring), has a baseline +recov of 200%, with a baseline 18% uptime (95% +rech slotting brings it up to 35.1% uptime), and is a PbAoE. Adrenalin Boost (which is utterly awesome imo) has a baseline 800% +recovery, 500% +regen, and 100% +recharge with a baseline 30% uptime (95% +rech slotting bring it up to 58.5% uptime), but is only single target.

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Which works out great when dealing with the slow bleed /DA normally is combined with the spike endurance rupture that is having to use dark regen.

How do you deal with being exemped to low levels then? If you only take enough attacks for a late game attack chain of 3 or 4 attacks, several which are somewhat late in the primary then doing flashback missions or exemping to help friends can be very painful.

I don't use it often in my attack chain anymore, but when exemped I'm glad to have swipe, strike and slash. Spin I may end up dropping again, but it's handy for large battles. it's also a good place for the second multi-strike set. Evicirate I'm not sure about keeping, but again it's a good place for multi-strike to get more +def. I'm actually considering dropping Follow Up again though. I keep forgetting it's there, so rarely use it.

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So then I was ALSO right when I said that tankers do more damage than Defenders BECAUSE they are melee.

As I said above, they do "about" the same as Defenders, but more.

Like 50 cents vs 65 cents, which are both nowhere near a $1.20.

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Can't remember the exact damage scale for controllers anymore (and trying to read CoD is sometimes an exercise in frustration). I think it's something like either 0.3 or 0.5 though. I know it's low. really really low. The main reason they got containment was to boost their damage pre-pets since their damage was too anemic. I remember my first attempt at an illusion controller back in issue four. Took me forever to defeat anything cause half my damage from Spectral Wounds kept vanishing after a few seconds, and my only other power that did damage did barely any. And spectral wounds doesn't do THAT much damage either. Once I finish this mish on my crab I'll log into Bowtroller and check how much damage it does currently.

... Or I'll get logged out due to my modem resetting it's self, and check once my modem finishes rebooting.

At level 27 my illusion/trick arrow controller does the following damage:

Spec Wounds
Attack Types:ranged, psionic 64.02 psionic damage on target -12.94 psionic damage on target after 10.00s 9delay Ignores buffs and enhancements)
39.04 psionic damage on target Only against immobilized, held, sleeping or stunned targets

Blind
33.72 psionic damage on target
33.72 psionic damage on target Only against immobilized, held, sleeping or stunned targets

This is my personal damage mind you. PA boosts my damage considerably while it's out. I can't keep it out constantly though, and they have a tendency to vanish mid fight. So right now those two powers are my main damage source most times, unless I confuse an enemy. I'll get Oil Slick at 35, but wont be able to light it until the 40's. So really, my defenders can easily out damage my controller. Heck, my tanker does almost as much damage as my controller (pre-PA) at a lower level.

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Nice one, you picked the lowest damage tanker secondary verses one of the highest aoe damage blasters.

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That was the POINT. I was talking in generalities and Fury was trying to get into specifics. So I got into ridiculous specifics.

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vs a tanker who has a .65 damage modifier I believe

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I believe that's true as well.... which is I think the same damage modifier that Defenders have.... so does that mean I was right earlier when I said they do "about the same damage"?

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Yes, and no. Melee does do more damage then ranged attacks at base. How do I know? Because my level 18 ice/mace tanker does roughly the same damage as my level 32 TA/A defender (before I light oil slick that is). Once oil slick is burning, it's no contest who does more damage.

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I've played plenty. Just because there are exceptions to the rule doesn't mean they don't apply as generalities.

If you want to prove me wrong, take a Stone/Ice tank and show him doing more damage than a Fire/Mental Blaster.

In GENERAL, these things are true. There are always exceptions to any rule.

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Nice one, you picked the lowest damage tanker secondary verses one of the highest aoe damage blasters. never mind that blasters have 1.2 damage modifier (I think) PLUS can get stacking damage boosts with every attack, vs a tanker who has a .65 damage modifier I believe, and doesn't stack damage bonuses with every single attack.

That's already an unfair comparison. That's like me taking my ice/mace tanker and saying "See, I do crappy damage because my Illusion/TA controller out damages me, and will do even MORE damage in the 40's".

By the way, I notice my illusion/TA controller doesn't out damage my defenders. Rather, my controller keeps up with my defender damage... barely.

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Thanks for the reply.

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But, you can tell me this one, since you like to compare ATs that share powersets with each other... can one Blaster keep a full team as safe as one Force Field Defender?

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No. But can you name another archetype that is bad at using its secondary?

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The problem isn't defender damage. It's that force field has very little to help you solo. FF's job is to keep the rest of the team safe, not you.

Now admitadly I've only done the ghost widow patron arcs. However as I understand it the Destined One destiny is to destroy the world in battle with Recluse after helping him defeat Statesman once and for all. During a VEAT arc you learn Recluse was just seeing how far your willing to take the "I'll pretend to be a destined one" ploy, but contrary to an early arc you didn't actually change your destiny to match the Destined One destiny.

That said, how does the Oraboras intro arc fit into things? If when you 'fix' the time stream you end up getting broken out of the Zig as part of Project Destiny, wouldn't that imply you just rewrote history and your destiny?

Oh yes, and by extension if you did rewrite your history and make your destiny the same as those divined for Project Destiny, how does side switching play into it? And what happens to your patron powers if a villain gets redeemed as a hero? Would you still have that signature villain as a patron? And wouldn't that cause distrust among heroes?