McBoo

Timign is everything, eh?

Hmmm, I haven't actually played Dark Armor and Stone Melee as a tanker combo yet but I have a level 50 Invulnerability/Stone Melee that occasionally has endurance issues in protracted fights. I put that down to only being slotted with SOs.

I tried a Spines/Dark Armor scrapper a while back and made it to the high teens before I threw my hands up in disgust over endurance issues. I have a level 10 Dark Armor/Ice Melee tanker that I haven’t been all that impressed with but the jury is still out on that one. Maybe a Dark Armor/Stone Melee tanker would make for a good experiment over my vacation. The problem is that I'm not a big fan of the "nimbus" armors which is probably why I'm not too happy with my DA/IM tanker.

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Ah yea I assumed he chose DA/SM (the most massive endurance suckage build possible ever

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Even this combo isn't as bad as you think.

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Eventually, no it would not be that bad with the correct slotting. It would take some patience in the lower levels though.

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95% Damage
95% Accuracy
95% Recharge
75% Endurance


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Oooooo! Pretty!

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Also.....in my opinion.......in Granite Armor....with dual blades.........*wow*.....that just looks wrong, as in....yea...I don't know. :P if it works, it works, I just know that it would look WEIRD AS HELL to me.

Good Luck Mate!

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I don't know if you get the option for Dual Blades, but if you do I would choose the rusty blades. They would make your Granite form look like something out of a Harryhausen film!

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I have to ask; when you say Stone/Dark do you mean Stone Armor/Dark Melee or Dark Armor/Stone Melee? I ask only because alot of folks get the correct order confused. Tankers as an archetype do have endurance issues but I would think that a Dark Armor/Stone Melee tanker at level 12 would be particularly bad!

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I'm confused about that as well. Stone Armor/DM wouldn't be too end heavy as long as you push Mud Pots back behind Stamina...as far as Dark/Stone...that, I imagine, is a nightmare

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This is a very good point. You wind up losing your taunt aura until level 22 unless you want to slot Mud Pots heavily for endurance reduction. Any chance of posting your build BlueBeguiler?

Sounds good! It's on my calendar, I just need the when and the where!

I have to ask; when you say Stone/Dark do you mean Stone Armor/Dark Melee or Dark Armor/Stone Melee? I ask only because alot of folks get the correct order confused. Tankers as an archetype do have endurance issues but I would think that a Dark Armor/Stone Melee tanker at level 12 would be particularly bad!

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When it comes to new powersets, I believe that the devs should prioritize sets that would complement existing powersets that, due to proliferation or what-have-you, don't have a thematic match within an AT. These sets would be:

Blasters
Radiation Manipulation (Radiation Blast)
Sonic Manipulation (Sonic Blast)
(Not a new powerset, but Devices should be modified to not cause redraw when used with Assault Rifle or Archery)

Defenders
Molecular Blast (Kinetics)
Wind Blast (Storm Summoning)
Electric Buff (Electric Blast)
(I know people will say that Storm Summoning and Electric Blast are thematic matches, but I DISAGREE!)
Mental Reinforcement (Mind Control)

Controllers
Mental Reinforcement (Mind Control)
Spectral Defense (Illusion)
Wind Control (Storm Summoning)
Force Control (Force Field)
Radiation Control (Radiation Emission)
(Empathy is so supportive in theme that Blast or Control versions of it would be too weird. That would be, what? Inconvenience Blast? Itch Control?)

Masterminds
Toxic Minions (Poison)
Elementals (Storm Summoning)
Slaves (Pain Domination, think Dominatrix's Praetorians)
Improvisation (Thugs)
(Let's assume that Demon Summoning will be a thematic match for Thermal Radiation)

Corruptors
Electric Buff (Electric Blast)
Molecular Blast (Kinetics)
Wind Blast (Storm Summoning)
Agony Blast (Pain Domination)
(And they should get Force Fields proliferated to match Energy Blast)

Dominators
Electric Control (Electric Assault)

Stalkers
Hm, since Stalkers can't match Broadsword with Shield Defense, maybe something like Parrying Dagger?

Brutes
Tankers
Scrappers
Eh...I got nothin'. Energy Aura should get ported to Tankers though.

Well, I've said my piece, anyone else got opinions?

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I would replace Wind Control for Controllers with Electric Control. Thematically the ability to control lightning works with the ability to control weather and there are enough wind based powers in Storm Summoning already. That's just me though, YMMV....

I'd also like to see Scrappers get an escrima set or a kung fu set that allowed you to pick from a lists of different attacks (punches, kicks and sweeps) to create your own unique style.

For defenders I'd like to see a buff set that's a little outside the box like Cybernetics. Less about glowing auras and more about added armor plating or implants that the defender could eventually design themselves through power customization.

Masterminds need evil toys. Marionettes that whip opponents with their own razor sharp strings. "Tonka" style tanks with mustard gas and flame throwers and a giant teddy bear with broken razor blades for teeth!

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind four slotting Stamina and 2 slotting Health. Unless you have them set up for specific IO slotting later I would pull one from Stamina and slot it in Health or alternatively you could leave Stamina 3 slotted, keep only the original slot for Health and apply the 2 leftover slots elsewhere like Dark Embrace and Murky Cloud to increase your damage resistance.

I would go with Stone Melee. It offers good damage, great mitigation and a very powerful feel. It is an endurance heavy set but that is less of a worry with Willpower. I played an Invy/Stone all the way to 50 and it was an absolute blast every step of the way!

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As you can see there is no travel power ("Farmin'" Build) and I took the presence pool for Invoke Panic. With IOs I'd plan to put in a bunch of dmg procs, but lets be honest, I'm never gonna get around to that.

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then drop it?

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This is probably good advice. The fear effect for Invoke Panic is only slightly better than CoF and IP doesn't come with an accuracy debuff or Taunt. This would also free up 3 power choices and 8 slots, allowing you to add another attack or two from Super Strength.

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Well, I dinged 50 on my Dark Armor/Super Strength Tanker a few days ago, and...well, I'm not too pleased. I know there's no -kb IO,

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Say WHAT? There's not one, not two, but THREE different IO's that give -4 mag knockback protection.
Steadfast Protection - goes in a resistance power.
Karma - goes in a defense power.
Blessing of the Zephyr - goes in a travel power.

Plus, there are IO sets that give -knockback if you have the right pieces all slotted in one power.

My fire/fire brute would be torture if not for these IO's. My defenders love them too.

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I plan on getting one or two for my E3 blaptroller once I get Charged Armor. He's built and slotted for mostly up close and personal combat so he tends to suffer alot of KB/KD effects.

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Including the Power Pools as well as Patron/Epic Pools in customization is a must if they are going to do this right.

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Well most of the hero Epic pool powers are also found in primary and secondary sets they already annouced will be customizable. So it shouldn't be too much work to get them working eventually.

The villain Patron powers are another matter.

For the pool powers, at first glance I don't see much worth customizing in:

Fitness
Leadership
Presence
Teleportation

That leaves just:

Concealment
Fighting
Flight
Leaping
Medicine
Speed

I can easily see them addressing the pool powers, Epics and Patrons in a patch after i16, but I don't expect them any time before that.


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Actually I think that Teleportation lends itself quite easily to customizable colors, particle effects and animations. I have often thought that the column of smoke effect from Steamy Mist would make a fantastic Telelportation effect. Some of the Costume change emotes would also do the trick. Imagine spinning yourself into nothingness in one place only to reappear in another. Perhaps something for the Stone Tankers, getting swallowed up by the earth only to burst from the ground directly under your foe.

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I know there's no -kb IO, but he get's knocked around like a rag doll,

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?????

Steadfast Protection -4 mag KB Resist

It will probably run you anywhere from 5 million or more depending on what level IO you get. I put one in Obsidian Shield for my Fire/Dark Scrapper and haven't been knocked on my butt since then. The advice I've heard is to get 3 of them sprinkled throughout your armors to bring your KB resist to -12 which should keep you standing in all cases but the most extreme.

I also have to ask why you are only slotting single lvl 50 and lower SOs? At level 50 you should easily be able to afford to have 50++ in every power. Heck I've got characters in their 20s that can afford to keep their enhancements "in the green". If you are only taking the presence pool for Invoke Panic I wouldn't bother slotting Provoke at all. You don't really need it but if you are going to use it you can get away with an accuracy in the original slot. The same goes for Taunt except I would only throw a taunt duration in there.

Eh, I get this from time to time but mostly I just try to adjust to the role that I'm best suited for in any given situation, sometimes that puts me at point sometimes it doesn't; when it doesn't I usually wind up grabbing aggro from the ranged mobs that refuse to close to melee.

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Can AVs endurance bar even get dented?

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Seen it done by a team of ?/Electric defenders..

LOL! A strangely cool idea but I really think that kind of thing needs to be left up to the player's imagination.

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Using Hide along with glowing powers like flame or electricity really isn't a problem if you handle it like David Eddings did in the Belgariad and related stories. Characters capable of "invisibility" weren't really making themselves transparent as much as they were exuding a sense of familiarity or insignificance. People would see them but simply ignore them.

I believe that The Shadow achieved "invisibility" in much the same way via hypnotism.

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The "blending in" explanation for stealth has always made more sense to me than the traditional "I'm hiding" explanation for Stalkers mainly because Stalkers are never hiding behind anything. A Stalker can be be unseen even if s/he's standing in an empty white expanse, no matter their origin. Sure, you could always use the traditional "invisible" excuse, but it doesn't really stand up to reason that someone could just walk up next to you and see you as clear as day (if they had high enough perception). Of course, it's a game, so you're supposed to suspend disbelief a bit as the turning invisible is simply an explanation/visual effect for a game mechanic.

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You know, come to think of it I had a character back during my PBeM days whose powers were borrowed from the displacer beast of D&D fame. She could make herself appear to be two feet from her actual location and she would achieve limited invisibility by always appearing to be directly behind her intended target.

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It is time to start thinking about a brand new Control Set such as Electric, Energy, Rad, Dark, Devices.


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Oddly enough, I spent an hour one night compiling a list of different electrical mezzes and effects, even dipped into some mob attacks.

Existing powers:

Electric Fence - ST Immo
Electrifying Fences - AoE Immo
Electric Shackles - ST Hold/-End/Recovery
Shocking Bolt - ST Hold
Lightning Field - PBAoE Toggle
Lightning Clap - PBAoE Disorient/KB
Power Sink - PBAoE End Drain/-Recovery
Shocking Grasp - Melee Damage/Hold/End Drain/-Recovery
Static Discharge - Cone Moderate Damage/-End
Short Circuit - PBAoE End Drain/-Recovery
Tesla Cage - ST Hold/-End/-Recovery

EM Pulse - PBAoE Nuke, Foe Disorient/-Regen/-End/Special Vs Bots

A quickly cobbled together Electric Control set (Although this is geared more towards Dominators):

1) Electric Fence - Single-target Immobilize/Moderate Damage/-Rec
1) Electric Shackles - Single-target Hold/Moderate Damage/-Rec
2) Electrifying Fences - AoE Immobilize/Minor Damage/-Rec
6) Short Circuit - PBAoE End Drain/-Recovery
8) Lightning Field - PBAoE Toggle -End
12) EM Pulse - PBAoE NON-NUKE version Disorient/-Regen/-End/-Rec/SpecialVsBots (Toned down to match non-nuke status)
18) Lightning Clap - PBAoE Disorient/Knockback
26) Thunder Stomp - PBAoE Knockdown/Disorient/-End (See: Deathsurge)
32) Summon Surge (Deathsurge/Cap Gremlin Hybrid: Charged Bolts, Lightning Bolt, Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Thunderstrike, Electric Explosion -End PBAoE/Moderate Damage on death)

So basically, their pet would be a tiny, agitated Deathsurge.

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Yes please!

Using Hide along with glowing powers like flame or electricity really isn't a problem if you handle it like David Eddings did in the Belgariad and related stories. Characters capable of "invisibility" weren't really making themselves transparent as much as they were exuding a sense of familiarity or insignificance. People would see them but simply ignore them.

I believe that The Shadow achieved "invisibility" in much the same way via hypnotism.

And Carl the groundskeeper attempted to do the same thing in Caddyshack.

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In all likelyhood, Masterminds got Thermal to thematically pair with the Demon Summoning set that is coming with Going Rogue. The demons are almost definitely going to be fire-based and BaBs said something about a Hellfire Whip involved somehow.

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Motivation.

"Program HARDER !" *CRACK !*

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Is that the new Hellfire Whip? I've heard they're customizable.....

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Hey, if we're really lucky, i16 will allow alternate animations for our powers.

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Knowing BaBs, we would have to be astronomically lucky.

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Goodbye "Johnny_Butane", hello "Astronomically_Lucky"!

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The comment still stands.

They are delivering only two sets with alternate animations for i16, as opposed to every set.

"For our powers" in this case doesn't apply to anything that's not SS or MA, which is the case for MOST of the powers in the game.

So if you're not SS or MA, they are not providing alternate animations to you powers in i16.

If I instruct someone to "stack the boxes on the floor" and they only stack two of the ten boxes on the floor, the job is not complete. You shouldn't have to specify "stack ALL the boxes on the floor". It's implicit.

In this case, it should have been implicit I was referring to all the attack animations in the game, not just MA and SS.

The i16 info actually vindicates me. We're only getting a couple sets with alternate animations for i16. Even if we get some later, that still wont be for i16.



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Are you actually arguing semantics to put this one in the win column? Does Clinton call you padawan?

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For a Tier 9? I'd rather I put a pistol away, adopted a modified Weaver stance, braced the gun in both hands, and picked off every enemy in a wide cone with one deliberate and well-placed shot apiece.

Call it 'Get Serious'.

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I like this as well! It's very Dirty Harry!

I think that whatever they do with a Dual Pistols set they need to be sure that they pay homage to some of the more well known examples of pistol packing heroes like Jack Beauregard, Trinity (Terence Hill not Carrie-Ann Moss), Harry Callahan and John Preston.

That way there is something for everyone.