Moonlighter
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Quote:In order for the system to work, *someone* has to obtain those lower level rares in that range for end game characters to buy. Higher levels can't do it at all, at least not until extra reward systems were explicitly added to allow it.Originally Posted by UberGuy
You're making what I think is a significant assumption, and I don't think it's correct. That assumption is that you're actually expected to obtain (rare) sets while still playing in the level range(s) in which they drop. I don't believe that's the case, and that instead you're expected to receive, at best, cheap uncommons, and have to come back later looking for rares, or make relatively expert use of the market.
In other words, rare sets are intended to be a time sink above and beyond the existing leveling.
As for being a system that isn't supposed to happen as people level, the acquisition of the sets would still be a time sink, just intersparsed with leveling instead of at the end. The difference is that the quality of life while leveling would be better.
I don't think the changes I am suggesting will force the game to become the new baseline or even encourage it really. It will just fix some frustrating aspects to character building.Quote:Remember, the baseline game still doesn't require IOs at all. Do they make your characters better? Heck yeah. Does having better characters equate to more fun for us? You bet. But that doesn't mean the devs want to adjust the game such that IO use becomes the new baseline.
I will say this; if IO systems to boost my endurance recover didn't exist I probably wouldn't still be playing the game. -
I see it differently, though I can't say your wrong about how the devs might see it.
Quote:If IOs leveled smoothly you'd still have low levels able to make influence on the AH for several reasons:Originally Posted by UberGuy
During I9 beta, the devs stated that they saw the market as a mechanism for influence and infamy to transfer from high-level characters to low-level ones. The only way that's sensible is if the low-level characters are selling things the high-level ones want to buy. Certainly there are some desirable items that you just can't get at high levels, such as Miracles or Achilles' Heel procs, or Basilisk sets, but I can't help but believe that the way IO bonuses stop working as you exemplar is actually the main mechanism they were thinking of here. I believe this is even more compelling when you consider not just PvE exemplaring, but PvP zone exemplaring. For a very long time, level 25-28 IOs were in high demand, because Siren's Call was the pub PvP zone of choice, and people wanted set bonuses that worked at that level.
~ Level 50s still drop influence outfitting their alts. In fact, this would be more likely. This is why Luck Charms sell for so much. This is also how it works in other games.
~ Lots of desirable unique IOs would still drop. *One* of those can outfit one of my characters in SOs all the way to 50.
I doubt they they expect my level 12s to have already accumulated 100 million influence which can happen now.
Purples and PvP IOs don't need this additional functionality to be special. They are highly sought after due to higher overall bonuses and would continue to be sought after. I see no benefit to the game in continuing to inflate the ultra prices of these IOs with this side functionality when they already have greater bonuses.Quote:Other mechanisms now seem based on these presumed foundational assumptions. For examples, one of the several attractive things about both Purple and PvPO sets are that their bonuses are exempt from the usual 3-level exemplar cutoff.
Changing how IO bonuses stop working now would have several effects outside being handy for people who slot sets. One would be that demand for low- and mid-level items would be reduced even more than it has already by changes making it easier to level faster. Another would be that some of the special benefits of Purples and PvPOs would no longer be special (though I am not sure this would really affect their prices at this point).
I see the reduction in fun leveling through the 30s and 40s to be a much bigger loss than any marginal benefit gained by inflating the value of these with Exemplar tricks.
The creation of level bands for sets already covers this. The high level sets are limited by level. That's the restriction that makes those sets end game sets. Ultra powerful sets (purples) are strictly limited to 50s. The design sort of disagrees with your point that the system is meant for end game by including sets that drop at low levels and in fact don't drop for high level characters.Quote:The devs pretty explicitly intended IOs to be an alternate progression mechanism, not one we're particularly intended to get for free in parallel with our XP progression. They also partially intended them to be something for level 50s to chase after once they're already level 50, so making them easier to obtain as you level up would run counter to that purpose.
Since there is already an explicit design to place to force chosen IOs to be used by high level characters (certain sets only exist in certain level bands) I can only guess that the systems we are talking about are a by product of the design and not themselves an explicit goal of the system.
You might be right about what the devs are thinking, but I think if they are thinking that way they are hurting the game more than helping it. Well, at least for me. I'd much rather have a rich 30-50 experience while I have content left to play than speed grind to 47 and have nothing to do when I finally get to the meat of my build.Quote:There are things I don't like about the system myself, but I'm pointing out what look like design assumptions in the overall picture that make changes of the sort you're suggesting seem pretty unlikely. -
Quote:Some people aim at certain exemplar levels. Some sets cap early. Some people make PvP twinks aimed at the lower level PvP zones. I understand that.Originally Posted by Werner
Some people WANT lower level IOs for exemplaring. If those people have a build planned out, and have the funds, they might as well buy them while they're leveling up and get to enjoy them early.
Rather than exemplar, if someone wants to play low level I tend to just play one of my lower level alts.Quote:I almost never exemplar, so I wait. I want maximum level 50 performance. I think I've spent more time in this game playing my 50s than leveling up or playing alts.
The current IO system doesn't integrate well with the CoH vision that I can play my characters at various levels. For exemplars, losing all IO bonuses because you are playing at a level under the IO level is frustrating, at least to me. The whole concept of purposely taking lower level IOs so I can exemplar effectively seems counter intuitive to me, and makes me just avoid exemplar play. The system also makes interim IOs useless as to maximize 50 performance you have to replace all of them. That's a shame, since one of the strengths of CoH is allowing characters of various levels to play together.
I'd like to see two changes.
~ As long as you have the power choice at your effective level, IO set bonuses work. If I exemplar down to 30 I lose all powers I took after that level, and I lose all IO set bonuses for those extra powers, but IO set bonuses are fine for powers I took in the 1-30 range.
~ There is some way to increase the level of IOs you have slotted at lower levels. This could be a SO drop that combines to increase the level. Heck, I'd rather have it so IOs no longer have levels; they just scale smoothly as the character does. This would let me work on sets in the 35-46 range which would do a lot to make that range more interesting. Right now it is basically an XP grind plus frankenslotting new powers. -
Quote:It would bug me to get to 47+ and have a bunch of sets that I have to destroy or replace entirely to maximum the basic bonuses of the IOs. Do you respec them out of the build and reuse them? Do you destroy them by replacing them directly with level 50 sets? Or do you just let the build sit with less accuracy/recharge/end red than you could have because the IOs are less than maximum?Originally Posted by MutantX_7
See I do the complete opposite. I start using IO's at lvl 25 and try to aquire set bonuses that will accumulate into my 30s and 40s. I had my Elm/SD Melee capped at lvl 35, ranged and AoE capped by 40. It definately adds a different dynamic to my gaming experience, because on top of growing my powers I grow the overall power of my character from 1-50 (well really 25-50, but you get the idea).
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Quote:That's pretty much my strategy, but only because for most toons getting IOs pre-50 wastes influence. Setting aside typed defense which usually comes from sets that max in the 30s and 40s, and the occasional Unique with a bonus that isn't level dependent, I find I am grinding through too many levels trying to get to 47. It's too bad, because it really would be much more fun in the 40's to be able to dabble with real IOs.Originally Posted by Werner
Yeah, I only have three live min/max builds, and two of them are old. Still good, but not keeping up with the Joneses. Generally speaking, I DO try to have high performance as I level, but only within the bounds of getting along with SOs, common IOs and frankenslotting. Also within the bounds of typically not planning a leveling build, just having a very good idea what to take and when, and planning for a respec in the 30s or so to fix any mistakes or just shift things around to better target the higher level game. And I do sometimes do things just for fun, like taking and slotting up Hover and Fly on one of my more recent toons.
I'd like to see a special uncommon SO drop that adds 1 level to whatever enhancement you combine it so I can put together some IOs earlier without having to completely replace them to max out bonuses.
I'm pretty good on getting up my defense and working on +End bonuses. I usually fall short on LotG +Recharges because acquiring multiples for every build makes me want to go play other games.Quote:My guess is that the majority of the multibillion influence builds being posted are "just for fun" or "a goal I hope to achieve someday". I suspect that few of them are actually achieved and played regularly. Still, I'm willing to call you a min/maxer if you have an awesome build planned in Mids' and all that you're lacking is the moneys.
Most really new players don't understand what "pulling" is. To them it isn't intuitive to stand back and draw the mobs to them, nevermind stepping around a corner so ranged mob have to run up to attack. They just run in and start punching. It's interesting reading articles on how a brand new player with no MMO experience at all acts as they try out games with no one to point out things that are obvious to you and me.Quote:Huhwhat? OK, look, I know the difference between to-hit and accuracy is complicated, and frankly unnecessary to understand for most people most of the time. But line of sight? If you can't see them, you can't attack them? If they can't see you, they can't attack you, so they'll probably run towards you to attack? When pulling, ideally keep other people where the bad guys can't see them? That kind of thing? Am I missing something? Maybe I need line of sight explained to me, because that all seems obvious and intuitive to me, seeing as how it's based on how vision works in the real world.
If someone posts a build on the forums, I assume unless they specifically say otherwise that they are looking for min/max advice.Quote:What you said. I know that people occasionally think we're telling them how to play. That's certainly not my intent, and if someone were telling me how to play, I'd get my feathers ruffled too. But if you post a build with no mez resistance, for instance, I think it's important, even critical that we suggest you pick up your mez resistance. If you respond, "I think it's awesome being held or stunned; it feels just like being a third rate super hero in a comic book, and I love that! I don't want to play someone invulnerable. I want to play someone with real weaknesses to overcome." Well, OK then, have at it! That's a real weakness, so you should have a good time overcoming it. I just want to make sure you're making an informed decision.
If someone teams with me, I assume they are not looking for advice. But then who cares? I mean seriously, my min/max builds can already grind 8 man content. For most content in the game, I don't care if they are running around using Jump Kick. I min/mix so my PuG teammates don't have to.
On my server someone saw me grinding the Cim wall on my DM/Shields and invited me to a shared channel that seems to be where experienced people hang out. When I jump into a TF spammed on that channel usually it's full of experienced people so I actually see a much higher percentage of min/max than I would otherwise.Quote:Anyway, yeah. Min/maxing is probably uncommon, but it does depend on your definition of min/max. Uber rare if by a min/maxer you mean someone with a very solid understanding of the game mechanics who plans out an uber build based on that understanding, and then achieves that build. That might be too restrictive a definition, though. -
I would love to see a "best chain" thread that assumed no Hasten. I don't mind building some Recharge in set bonuses or unique IOs, but some of my builds don't have Hasten either because of concept or because I can't fit in another power pool.
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Quote:Actually this scrapper board is probably the best and most knowledgeable forum I read of any game I play. There isn't another forum in the multiple games I play/read about where the knowledge to noise ratio is so good.Originally Posted by Laevateinn
The fact that most people who try to talk about game mechanics and balance know nothing about either.
Since scrappers don't have Stone I don't know why you are bringing up that set. Invuln is great but has holes, and Willpower sacrifices a lot to get to Shield mitigation levels.Quote:The most durable sets are all hybrid res/def/recovery ones: Stone, Invuln, Willpower. They can all survive things that will instantly crumple Shields and SR.
First, the fact that defense caps at ~90% mitigation where as Resist caps at ~70% mitigation might also have something to do with it.Quote:Defense is the most laughably flimsy mitigation in the game. Every two-bit thug with a machinegun debuffs defense, ToHitBuffs castrate it, bad luck kills it dead and autohit attacks ignore it altogether. Don't get me started on autohit defense debuffs or unresistable ones. The only reason it seems superior in many peoples' eyes is that you can easily get defense bonuses from IO sets and pool powers, while you can't get resistance the same way.
Second, resist and heal sets actually suffer *more* from defense debuffs and ToHitBuffs because they don't have the same protection against the hits to begin with. Where swords and guns might hit and start a defense failure cascade, as a pure resist set you are from the start taking double damage as your inherent defense drops to zero almost immediately in any 8 man scenario.
I actually think that they should cap defense debuffs so they don't reduce defense below base. That way they target defense sets (and defense stacking) without destroying resist sets. -
You can build a crazy Regen with 40/35/25 defense. That should be enough for most AVs if you are good at Regen and you don't hit one that can one shot you with a big AoE. Your cooldowns should allow you to recover from unlucky streaks. It is one of the harder builds to implement and master though. Fortunately Claws is one of the sets that can put out decent DPS without Hasten.
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Quote:I wouldn't say people look down their noses at resistance sets. My Invuln scrapper is awesome, and just as survivable as my SR even without the high defense resistance. The defense debuffers tend to be S/L and are looking at my 70% resistance. I can have trouble if I hit a lot of Psi, but then again my /SR has been one shotted by Minotaurs and MA custom elite bosses that can't do that to my Invuln. My /Dark is great already, and capped WP is bery tough.Originally Posted by UberGuy
I don't think it makes sense for people to look down their noses at resistance sets, per-se, but there is a discrepancy in the peak (average) performance of the two mitigation types, at least for ATs that aren't Tankers and Brutes.
IMO the only overpowered set is /Shields. The set is has way too much survivability for the damage buff of AAO coupled with Shield Charge for added AoE. Okay maybe overpowered is too strong, as I'm really not fishing for nerfs. How about a clear contender for the overall best defensive set?
IMO with all the defense bonuses possible from I/Os defense sets are more about DefDebuff resistance.Quote:Resistance for Scrappers caps out at 75%. But the mechanics of Defense don't vary by AT. At its peak benefit, Defense can help you avoid 90% of the damage you would otherwise take, on average. Caveats for being debuffed or facing foes with toHit buffs may apply.
So if you compare a character who has only defense but is at the defense "soft cap" to someone that has only Resistance but is at the (Scrapper) resist cap, the Defense character is taking 10%/25% = 0.4 as much damage on average as the resist character. That's a pretty major difference. It's also a lot easier to get powersets with Defense powers to their respective vector caps than it is to get powersets with Resistance to the Scrapper resist cap, at least sustainably (so excluding powers like Unstoppable, etc., which have long cool downs.)
Sure, but to be fair spending a lot of time discussing SO builds running through at +0/1 doesn't exactly teach us much. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem helping newer players in that arena but I doubt I'll learn much from it. On the other hand just when I think I don't have a reason to read the forums someone points out something I missed by discussing some high end build and changes my build style. I love that about this forum.Quote:But again, this is mostly while comparing high-end builds, usually operating at level 50. The forums tend to focus on what's possible in the limit, as a lot of the people posting here are very veteran or at least very interested in details (or both).
There's a tendency for folks to poo-poo anything that's not the top performer, even though not everyone is looking to solo AVs or TFs, or tank an 8-man team's aggro on their Scrapper full time. If you're looking for the absolute best average survival you can manage, look to Defense-oriented powersets and try to cap them. If you want to play various things and see how survivable you can make them, maybe look into slapping some +Defense and +Regen on your characters and have fun. -
If you can get enough recharge to get down to SK - CK - SK - CAK then you don't need it. If you can't then you need to fill in the gaps. I'd rather have Eagle's then TK since a hard hitting, long animating attack with a stun is good for PvP and I like to throw it as a flourish. You can also fill the gap with the Fire epic pool.
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Once I soft capped my Kat/Dark I just skipped them both. My only wish is that I could fit in more melee defense. Being able to cap melee defense with a single Divine Avalanche would be great.
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Guide to MA/SR
~ Soft cap defense.
~ Build for a SK - CK - SK - CAK chain.
~ Profit.
If any set doesn't need Touch of Death it's /SR. Touch of Death sucks in overall stats so you want to avoid them unless it's in an extraneous attack you only use infrequently (like while Hasten is down.) With Ninja Run another option is to skip a travel pool, but you'll probably want Combat Jumping anyway.
The biggest decision you have as MA/SR is whether to go Hasten or Aid Self. It's possible to go both; just expensive.
For soft capping defense you shouldn't need to gimp your melee attacks. Slot out all your defenses, take Weave, Combat Jumping, +3% Steadfast and a full set of Gaussian's and you are done. You can also take Hover instead of CJ.
Once you are soft capped, take Hasten and work on recharge. As I said, you are going for SK - CK - SK - CAK.
If you also want Aid Self you can soft cap without Weave or Manuevers. (That's what my build looks like.) It's just more expensive. Basically you cap Ranged/AoE with Blessing of the Zephyr and round out melee with one Touch of Death in an extraneous attack (like Eagle's Claw so you can throw it occasionally to add flourish to the end of a group because it's pretty) and Oblit in Dragon's Kick. -
Quote:Positional is easier to get and less intensive on your attacks. The two obvious reasons are the Gaussian's set and Blessing of the Zephyr. These sets really pump up postional defense and typed doesn't really have a decent counter part. Also, I'd rather go Mako's then working on the level 30 and 40 sets required to pump typed. Oblit tends to be better than Eradication as well.Originally Posted by Laevateinn
Out of curiosity, why positional defense? It seems that you could probably get high levels of S/L defense more easily and it'd work against a significant portion of ranged attacks as well. Since a lot of large S/L defense bonuses are 2-4 slot bonuses (vs 5-6 slots for melee defense), it sounds like it'd be less slot intensive as well. What compelling reasons are there for taking melee over S/L defense?
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Quote:I had this idea floating in my head since working on my Kat/Fire. Go Claws/Fire, concentrate on Ranged and AoE and keep scattering all the melee types with Burn. Claws with a ranged Focus and a cone Shockwave would be ideal for this since running foes aren't a big issue. Go for a 20m/40r/30aoe defense package with Claws/Fire, keep melee scattered with Burn and then kill everything with cones. A demon type with /Dark for the ranged and cones would be ideal if you can manage without Phys Perf. That's why claws would be ideal. Then you could use Tentacles and do a run by Burn to manage your exposure to melee.Originally Posted by Umbral
Your best bet is to simply go for positional defense. Slot up some Obliteration 6 piece sets and Touch of Death 6 piece sets where you can. Take Weave, Maneuvers, and Combat Jumping/Hover. Slot a Steadfast Protection 3% +def IO in Temp Protection (which you did take because of the slow resist, right?). Throw in some BotZ 3 piece sets in SJ and CJ. That should net you 33.4% +def(melee) and 17.9% +def(ranged, AoE). With a few more +def set bonuses thrown in (Aegis, Mako's Bite), you should be able to manage at least 20% +def to ranged and AoE. Those defenses, combined with the preexisting resistances FA has, should be enough to get you where you want to be.
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Quote:It didn't sound harsh.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Solo in a +2/x8 Freak mission he's pretty damn solid. Nemesis are a pain for him, but that's just because of the Vengeance they cast. If I make sure to kill LTs last I'm okay usually.
He does ok versus Shadowhunter and Marauder. He can't solo them as AVs though because of the lethal resistance. It just takes too long to kill them and they wear him down. He can take their agro on a team though.
I seldom run missions higher than +2/x6. Mostly because that's about where his comfort zone is. He CAN run +2/x8, but I prefer not to.
A Claws/Regen can be built to do some crazy things, but mine isn't THAT tough. Iggy Kamikaze has one that did the RWZ Challenge using nothing but Swipe, which boggled my mind. I saw his build, it's a good one if you have 4-5 billion sitting around.
Like I said, a lot of it is knowing what I can and can't handle. A lot of AVs are beyond me (Marauder, Siege, Nightstar, anyone else with significant lethal resistance, and Anti-Matter)
You seem to be setting the bar awfully high. Seems as though you're approaching this with the attitude of "If I don't have the survivability and damage output of a softcapped Shield Defense toon I'm gimped"
When you compare everything to the best set, of course it's going to look weak in comparison.
Edit: If that sounded harsh, I apologize, that was not my intention. To sum it up, my regen performs acceptably for ME. If you find yourself unhappy with a regen's performance no matter how you build it, then maybe the set just isn't for you.
Now, I am not just comparing to soft capped Shield Defense. I also do these things on my MA/SR and my Claws/Invuln. My Kat/Dark is 49 and now has around 20/35/29 so far (still building) without the PvP IO and that build is starting to do these things.
From my experience and Mid's, I can also see my DB/WP reaching those levels of survivability.
On the other hand I've tried both Spines/Regen and Dark/Regen and just couldn't compete on survivability. The Spines/Regen got 700 million in rares and purples, but it was early on when I was chasing recharge not defense. So before I spent weeks re-building him I am just trying to get an idea of whether it is worth it.
The only high level scrapper I haven't reached these performance levels on is my /Fire but that set is known to be squishy and I lost interest when I realized I just liked /Elec better for the play style. (Burn kind of annoys me.) My /Elec is just a baby scrapper though.
So it's not just /SD.
In my opinion right now, SD, SR, Invuln, WP, and Dark can reach these levels of performance without Parry and DA. /Fire and /Elec can not. I am trying to figure out which camp Regen is in. Although to be fair my /DA is a katana with DA. I will have to see on my MA/DA.
I have high hopes for my Katana/Elec but I am depending on DA to shore up melee defense. -
Quote:Endurance, yes. With your set up Phys Perf is overkill unless you are taking it for the Regen and not the energy. In that case you might be able to drop Stamina?Originally Posted by Whisky_Jack
Overkill, not necessarily a bad thing, but in my opinion you're trying to hard on defense and endurance.
In my opinion CP is totally superfluous when Focused Accuracy with a single default slot provides over 60% on demand ToHit Debuff resistance? You want FA for ToHit Debuffs.
As for defense, I have to totally disagree with the above poster. You are on the edge of great defensive effectiveness. If anything I would love for ways to get up you f/c and e/n defenses a bit. Fire based groups in particular are going to give you issues on the higher settings since they don't tend to bunch in your +Regen field (ranged) and you have no resistance against them. -
Quote:If you don't need CP I am surprised you didn't take FA instead of Tactics and free up a power slot.Originally Posted by Santorican
CP is just a place holder for PP. When I did I would farm +0 x8 just for speed. I did solo Marauder, Nightstar, Dominatrix, but I don't recall soloing Shadow hunter.
Thanks for the info! (I guess you've doomed me to outfit my Regen build.
)
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For me a taunt aura is a big advantage while farming. My Katana/Dark has a lot of runners that slow down my kill rate and my /Shields and /Invul do not have that problem.
With the new difficulty settings I don't farm the wall anymore (thank goodness) but when I did do that with my /SR it was terrible. It seemed like half the spawn jumped over the edge. -
Quote:Unkillable against what? How is he solo in a 8/+2 Freak mission? How does he fare against Marauder or Shadowhunter AVs?Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
My main is Claws/Regen with almost 700% passive regen just running Integration and ~20% defense to all positions. He is nearly unkillable if I'm on my game, but very squishy if I'm not paying attention. My playstyle led to his death may times, but now that he's IOed out my playstyle makes him very difficult to kill.
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Quote:Yeah I knew Spines wouldn't be grinding out AVs when I took it. I am more looking at a defensive set up that can thrive in an 8/+0 up to 8/+2 mission while grinding out some influence even if I have to clock off the possibility for bosses.Originally Posted by Santorican
The problem with spines is that it is a mob killer and doesn't deal well with hard targets. I took Umbrals Katana/Regeneration build and changed it to Fire/Regeneration and it has pretty decent recharge as well as excellent defense.
Nice build. I typical abue Blessing of Zephyr more heavily, but the nice thing about this build is that it reminds me that with Phys Perf I can make a build without fitness. A couple questions.
Does the build need Conserve Power, or is it a placeholder on the way to Phys Perf?
Can this build grind 8/+0, or 8/+2? What's your typical farming setting?
Can this build take on typical AVs like Marauder, Shadowhunter, etc? -
Quote:My current is a 50 Spines/Regen. I was somewhat disheartened by how squishie he was after I got his Hasten and Dull Pain perma with purples and expensive sets. The redraw is somewhat annoying but I could live with that.Originally Posted by Santorican
For what kind of scrapper? I have a Fire/Regeneration build with around 25% defense to melee and ranged and it's helped out tremendously.
I have been avoiding Regen since then. I was thinking of Fire/Regen since there is no redraw. (My main is MA and as much as I love him because he's my main, that primary is painful to play after running some of the other scrapper pimaries.)
Another issue with Regen is that, at least in Pylon tests, all the clicking really cuts down my DPS.
I am looking for some opinions of people with /Regens with, say, 25/40/30 defense to see if they can survive 8/+2, solo Pylons, RWZ challenge, and solo AVs. -
Quote:I would love to hear your experience with an IO'd out Regen that doesn't have Parry since I can't get my Regen to perform like my other characters. But I went recharge all the way, and I just get decimated by big spawns. I haven't gone full out defense yet, but on paper (err Mid's) I just can't seem to get a build with high enough melee defense to really compare to some of my other scrappers.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Granted, other sets will pull ahead in the late game, but I have gotten some ridiculous survivability out of regens, even without Divine Avalanche/Parry. My main's passive regen is high enough I seldom need to click a heal, and with my experience in trial and error with the set I can do it right the first time this time around.
And I am well aware how well regen can do when paired with Parry or DA. -
I don't think you want to use sets that rely on typed defense for this build Reactive Armor is hell expensive and not particularly effective for this build. If you rely on Parry then you other types defenses are low and you still have a Smashing hole.
Instead, concentrate on Ranged defense first, AoE defense second, and then splash melee if you can.
The sets to rely on for Kat/Dark:
Mako's Bite. An under-rated set, usually you can buy an entire set significantly cheaper than Reactive armor. I usually go Mako's in DA and Soaring, mostly because I want to leave a slot open in Gambler's for the -Resist proc.
Blessing of the Zephyr. Stack travel powers and use this set in multiples. The knockdown is hell expensive, but you need KD protection anyways and while you are grinding for it you can slot the other two to get up Ranged.
Red Fortune. Get two or three defense powers and slot it up with Red Fortune. Not only do you get a nice ranged defense, but you are also getting recharge and damage. Most of the set is pretty cheap. My only complaint is that it is slot intensive.
Scirrocco's up to 5. You AoE powers can slot this for the AoE defense. I usually will throw this into my damage aura. If you skip the proc you will save a much needed slot and still get the AoE defense.
After that grab Gaussian's and the +3 defense to all.
A 20/35/30 (melee/ranged/AoE) will pretty much eat through anything without heavy defense debuffs and caps with one purple. If you can get it up to 20/40/35 you will be even better. With the PvP IO you can even hit 25/45/40 without sacrificing too much. -
Quote:If I could soft cap /Fire without Parry then maybe Fiery Embrace might be a consideration. It isn't really a consideration if /FA can't survive big enough spawns to really put the damage to use.Originally Posted by Santorican
Full saturated AAO won't give you more then 70% damage bonus, where as Fiery Embrace gives you a full 125% if you have Fire as a primary.
Well I can't argue that. But I could say the same thing about AAO.Quote:I can assure you that without Shield Charge, Shield Defense wouldn't be as popular as it is. -
Quote:I disagree. It's Against All Odds that really kicks it over the top. That paired with Shield Charge is wonderful, but without Shield Charge the damage due to AAO would still put shield on top for any set without decent AoE output.Originally Posted by Santorican
Honestly the only reason why Shield shines is because of Shield Charge. If Shield Defense didn't have Shield Charge it would be an average power set, but I'm assuming.
And it's not Shield Charge that pumps /Shield builds to solo pylons in the five minute range.