New Dawn

I moved my chatbox over slightly and put a vertical tray down the left side (just incase I got a drink in one hand).

I don't, after a quick scan, see anywhere that says "Take tough". It's more of why someone might take tough as it says:

2. Do not be tricked into thinking if you take Tough and one of the Epics armor sets that you will be able to last very long under fire, because you wont, you do not have a tankers hp and will die quickly.

I wouldn't take tough as I don't feel a need but I still have super recharged resurrect from the old Hamidons. I got 2 res and 2 end in it. Sometimes although not often, the level of damage onto the team exceeds what an empath can match in a moment, especially at those times when the defense that fortitude has to offer is punched through. I don't get to dictate the dynamics of play half as much as I think Defenders should and often over confidence sets in after a while and people can put themselves in a compromising position in relation to each other without realizing.

I appreciate and love the effort gone into this. This looks like a genuine effort to offer guidance which is what this section is all about and has been lacking in lately.

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'oi.

Not me.

But maybe it would be a time to update this a bit. Almost 5000 views and things have been changing. (Also, no idea why this still keeps going)

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Nah the updating right now would be in poor form imo.

What? You want me to read it?

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Hmm all this thread is missing is a section on empaths who use binds.

Now I don't mind a '<insert buff> is ready please gather' bind, thou IMHO a good empath can feel their team enough that such lines aren't needed.

My main issue with empath binds are the ones directly linked to a power, most common are the Rez ones. "Stand up <char>, no sleeping on the job" or other more roleplaying ones. Sure it's all fun and games in good teams where almost no one dies but on a Pylon raid for instance it's very very annoying.

So pretty please with sugar on top, don't use such binds.

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Alvan, stop using your binds around your thread bumping mate!

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Damn it must be lonely on the German Server.

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I think it'd be the opposite - almost everyone must know everyone else - it'd be like an extended family

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If you can get a team its usually pretty good...IF.

You're slotting IOs like SOs. The 3rd slot in a lot of them won't benefit you much. Sometimes people do 3 slots but that maybe for future IOs or for burst damage value.

Without conserve that build I'd imagine would have between 30-40 sec fight duration and that's with misses.

Here is your build with emptied slots, emptied as they are what I would move and have become end slots in attacks to extend my fight duration for when facing AVs and Acc slots to reduce my fight duration versus anything hard to hit.

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I do have one and a build plan for it but your power choices differ.

Everything Maelwys says is as I would expect. People build against what they find common. Despite having Toxic resist in REl meaning it resists 3 elements as opposed to REns 2 it still has been a hard sell. Not to me though, I leveled up on Vahz being of Science origin.

On paper, with 10 around me I hate the total level of defence with which I am down with this change but I do realize that overall I am better off. The scale figure going from 0.1 to 0.1175 would balance it back to how it is in i12 with 10 around me.

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I don't think Resist Energies is quite into "unskippable" territory yet, but I'd rank it fairly closely behind RPD and Tough Hide now, and I personally would rather take it than "Conserve Energy". Resist Elements however is still completely skippable. Fire/Cold damage is rare in PVE... and it just resists movement speed debuffs NOT recharge debuffs, which are negligable if you've got the Jump travel pool.

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I gotta have both conserve and the end drain resist and I am running less toggles than you XD

I do feel that Resist Elements is still missing that X Factor (it's on tonight?) I would love some res to -Rechg in it personally, oh heck, we both know teams for most people come with a complimentary Kin so what does it matter! It could be more attractive really.

I think that Temp Protections 20% res to slow sure ain't enough and Fire likes its recharge, and if you're like me and think that a flying Firetank is a good option but don't won't to take hover cos its slow then res to -fly would be nice. The intense heat beneath me elevating my body should somehow say "Stuff you webnade" when Burn has done it to the immob in it - Makes sense to me. Res to -fly in burn makes sense as it should make the air hotter beneath you but I don't want to live like that. The fact that I can't be mezzed, toggle dropped in the air should keep my "Flame on!" and keep me buoyant anyway.

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Nice changes to Khelds and toggles, looks like really powerful changes.

rather underwhelming changes to Energy Aura tho...

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Energy Drain,

Upto 4% to target and it effects upto 10 targets for an upto 40% guaranteed uninterruptable heal on a powerset that can easily use Aid Self....in fact amongst 10 it'll equal Aid Self wouldn't it? Then I hasten and whoa, someone wake me! I must be dreaming.

I like us getting the EP Res to Toxic att. that does look good.

2 Questions,

How did you come to that Praf?

..And for anyone else, anyone without Resist Elements I wonder if Elements looks attractive enough to get or although better still skippable.

Movement Slows, rare on me, its not often I would be found caught in say Quicksand, miles from hitting anything doing the Baywatch run. Given a choice between bringing an Earth Thorn Caster to me through taunt and hide or me standing out like a sore thumb 44ft away, in quicksand, running on the spot while a ton of Behemoths Flame me at my lowest def due to none in melee and from less of it through quicksand..I'd take the former, as its quicker, less faffing and footstomps are quick to go.

I guess that question should have scrappers in mind. I think the extra resist in the passives would make their passives less silly. Often even though you resisted 5% you'd still be dead.

For me there is lots of ways in which an SG member can contribute. I might do more in some of the ones I am in, if I could be on at a regular time (which I can't) or if they had a large group of people on all of the time (which might catch me around). Right its peak time now when most people can play but I've got to go to work.

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Invulnerability
Invulnerability has a few issues, mainly stemming from lack of special resistances and “weak” power choices. Here are the changes that are being made:

* Unyielding: We removed the Defence Debuff from this power. While we still believe it fits thematically, the impact on low level characters was more severe than desired.
* Invincibility: Reduce per target Defence Buff to from scale 0.15 to scale 0.1. The overall result of this and the Unyielding change is, if you have the maximum number of targets in this power’s radius, you have the same protection as from Issue 12. However, if you have fewer targets, your net defence is higher.
* Resist Physical Damage: Added 25% Defence Debuff Resistance. Increased damage resistance scale from 0.75 to 1.00.
* Tough Hide: Added 25% Defence Debuff Resistance.
* Resist Energies: Added 25% Endurance Debuff Resistance. Increased damage resistance scale from 0.75 to 1.00.
* Resist Elements: Added 20% Movement Slow Resistance. Increased damage resistance scale from 0.75 to 1.00.

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I really had given up the ghost on seeing the passives improve in resist. Didn't you?

I mean lets face it, from the time it was reduced to its current levels people, including me, had expressed that they felt it was too low but in all that time, I considered that it was never going to change because of however they see things as balanced. It was a long time ago. It looks okay now don't it?

This in particular looks okay to me: "Added 25% Endurance Debuff Resistance."

I'd of rather 25% resistance to slows to tidy it up matching the end drain.

I would of preferred some resistance to fear as part of the res energy passive but thinking about it fear is probably is classed as psionics..so I guess not. I would of also liked to see Res elements resist -recharge too but that was if we were without any increase in passive resistance.

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Unfortunately I doubt the Boss-health level NPCs would survive more than an AoE or two from an AV-level Scirroco. If they were all the same HP as Citadel, or someone else along with Numina was buffing + healing, perhaps.

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It's worse than you think. Other than Citadel (who's an Elite Boss), everyone is Pet-class, not Boss-class. What does this mean? Half the amount of HP you'd expect! XD

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Yep, on Unyielding I had 9 survivors after Jade went down which is pretty good. If I had kept Numina and Sister Psyche I might of had 13. I am going to assume that really I didn't want Malaise and Infernal in the mix on Jade Spider but will do on Lord Recluse. Their pets hopefully would be like cannon fodder for his spawn whilst I think I can keep Lord Recluse better than Jade Spider. Jade was Psi "cone" and -rechg which isn't good. Unyielding maybe the highest possible rep to do it but meh its something new to do and something to think about before you say the game is too easy. The group pic of your character, Vindicators and Phalanx could be well worth it.

I just play.

Many characters get random recipes to make and I just make them as and when I can with what salvage I get or can afford at the time. Then I store them in my salvage table in the base where all my characters got that server can access them. I won't be IO setting every character I got, just the ones I really fancy doing it too and so the salvage table becomes a kitty.

Now if one day we have a global salvage storage account the ones I have in my salvage table on say Zukunft can be transfered to a character that wants it badly on Union. Or if transfering a character I will smuggle the good stuff with it.

This way I continue with altitis and eventually get there in the end. I only see the sets as something to get characters nearer to concept or good for pvp really.

Might I suggest something.

PvE isn't any more difficult than it was when we had SOs, so simple IOs will do, then with PvE you could have a build that's team orientated as well. You do what you do best.

Then have the other build about soloing and self sustainability which is often fine for PvP although with somebuilds I would throw in some team based powers and make this your IO set build as PvP is going to be hard depending on who you face and soloing is going to be better if you're self sustainable and more offensively perhaps more selfishly built.

Effectively you could have 2 characters for the price of one very cheaply.

I didn't consider nukes or shivs, I just use whats in mission or whats gained thru the mission but that is still classed as soloing. Tactically I will try and find a way of doing things simply because it works. In RL heroes do the right thing because it was the right thing to do and what matters most is that you've achieved it. That sums up pretty much my thinking.

I got a Claws/SR and basically I don't have Divine Avalanche but if I did, it'll be done differently. I would have different abilities.

To back track then if I was a Fire/Regen I would still achieve as much as I have so far, they don't have DA either. I wonder, if it has been soloed on Invincible yet, and if not, why not?

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At the Invincible level, enemies will typically be two to three levels above your character's level and the number of enemies will be approximately the same as the base number at the Heroic level. Bosses will spawn in missions normally and Archvillains will be Archvillains, even if the missions are attempted by a single character (i.e. they will not be reduced to Elite Bosses).

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So all I got to do is keep damage off of the NPC team and survive. With Numina and Sister Psyche kept alive next time I wonder, and perhaps I could try to lose Malaise and Infernal to remove their pets from the team before Jade Spider. Somit for the weekend.

Bare with me here with the quoting I am not on a warpath tearing posts apart, I just felt it helpful:

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IIRC soloing on Invincible will get you AVs though, so it'd not exactly be a small step up from Unyielding.

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Yes I was hoping for AVs, this will then mean I have to go about it very carefully, not saving each NPC as I come to them but saving the NPC in a good order, then tanking the AVs in turn whilst that NPC supports me with their AI.

I had no probs up until Silver Mantis who was right between Black Scorpion and a Jade Spider Battalion, my taunting of Silver Mantis was a little late and Numina (Nooo! My empath! My HEALER! .... ) got dusted. So it was hello Jade Spider with no Numina! XD AI is a little problematic. Now you may think that Black Scorpion, Silver Mantis and a Jade Spider Battalion plus all their mates would be hard for my itty bitty scrapper to keep aggro off but because they were so close I removed all their mates before going for a single hostage (I did my Recon).

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Did the Ouroboros one for fun on Rugged a few nights ago myself and saved everyone up until Jade Spider. Was playing for fun, so when it appeared the twelve NPCs and myself all just dogpiled on it. I kept aggro, naturally, and they were all at full HP until it morphed... then they all died due to the big damage PBAoE DOT except for Citadel, bunch of low HP pansies!!

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That's actually really good, well partly cos I now know that I am not the only nut job that does this stuff. SR has no taunt aura so I had to hope for the best in taunting really. You say 12 NPCs but I think if you lost no one before Jade Spider you would of surely had 13. Like I say, I myself had 12 with the loss of Numina. But it was hard keeping a headcount, so hard I made macros like...

1) /Macro BAB "$$Targetname Back Alley Brawler"
2) /Macro Cit "$$Targetname Citadel"
3) /Macro Inf "$$Targetname Infernal"
4) /Macro Man "$$Targetname Manticore"
5) /Macro Mal "$$Targetname Malaise"
6) /Macro Lib "$$Targetname Ms. Liberty"
7) /Macro Myn "$$Targetname Mynx"
8) /Macro Num "$$Targetname Numina"
9) /Macro Pos "$$Targetname Positron"
10 /Macro Sta "$$Targetname Statesman"
11 /Macro Sis "$$Targetname Sister Psyche"
12 /Macro Swa "$$Targetname Swan"
13 /Macro Syn "$$Targetname Synapse"

Which I gladly write up for anyone to copy and paste from because I won't stop at doing one scrapper/tanker myself. In doing the headcount (cos following is not their strongpoint) I moved the macros from one 3*4 tray to another 3*4 tray to distinguish from the found, to be found, lost and oh noes they are dead! XD In the doing of GW it was like the most the team buggered off really.

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I'm convinced that the best way to do the spider is just to SJ away and solo it then rejoin the NPC group afterwards. It does a fairly annoying high -recharge attack, but if you're waiting for an attack/heal to pop back you can kite it around the Oil rigs fairly easily

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I treated the attack as a cone attack, what I do is, read the type of attacks the enemy do and then try to make it so it cant land on anyone but me, if its PBAoE I'd of needed a friend to of found that out.

I think the -rechg got me despite being an SR with quickness...or just thinking about it..aggro was drawn down. You see Infernal had his pets out and Malaise had his pets out..If they're anything like Illusion Control pets, then they can win attention depending on my position when taunting (Good thinking Batman!). To keep a cone attack off of them I wouldn't be where they were..so losing 3 ain't bad but I think I will do better next time as I will bring Jade to them, then quickly swing Jade about more than 45 degrees. I wish I used the oil rigs for leaving taunt control, breaking LoS and then doing it again to see how it faired but Jades attacks rechg almost as well as my confront which I was spamming anyway. The NPCs do buff me so blocking myself may mean I would block myself to teams buffs if I am not careful. I lost Numina anyway and lost Sister Psyche anyway so using LoS would of been nice to find out. I did in fact save insps for Jade so without them NPCs it wasn't too bad.

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I'd prefer the mid level arc myself though. The last mission where you fight over 100 Nazis whilst simultaneously beating down three EBs is far too much fun. Did that one last night. Left the friendly NPCs in another room and soloed the lot on my Kat/Regen. Died once, and that was due to network lag making me miss a Divine Avalanche and letting a 10-second string of hits appear instantly. Inspless apart from three small purple insps at the very start and a wakey + BF in the middle, but Kat is pretty well suited to fighting them.

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I did this on Unyielding with both Katalina and Shannon before soloing the last TF with Katalina. Katalina did the 3 EBs surprisingly flawlessly, Shannon however well, *cough* I messed up, it was all too funny too concentrate and in messing up I was eventually forced into a position of Unstoppable which crashed literally just after all EBs were done and I had only 3 left of the NPCs to do before mish complete XD. I was too busy laughing to concentrate. I have no shame really and see no embarrassment in mentioning that

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Nothing like beating on unending hordes of Nazis for relieving daily work tension...

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It was funny, so much anarchy going on but I doubt I'd solo that again as it is the last TF that's the one that really has me "thinking".

Anyways, why I think that this is a good scrapper test and perhaps the ultimate scrapper test:

You prove that scrappers can be instrumental in other peoples survivability as much as other people are in yours. If the fact that scrappers are great damage dealers isn't enough that is.

Finding out the order to do them shows that one is wise to other peoples powers, well especially on Unyielding and up. You may need to acknowledge the other people (npcs) in the team, as what they can do and how they can do it matters. The trouble is its AI we are talking about and you may need to become aware of just how they operate and think ahead. I tried to sneak pass Scirroco, cos he is to me, the particular pain in the butt XD. This was because I wasn't ready but I under-estimated NPCs perception, no deaths involved but still I think I got lucky.

I don't know what to expect when I try Invincible. On Unyielding with Katalina I felt I could rely on facing Ghost Widow and kiting if needed, because needs warranted that. I knew I was saving insps for Jade Spider whose Psi versus my SR. The thinking was, if the NPCs don't immob GW, then they may -fly her and it's Kats build which gives me more than 2 choices of kiting (That's why I chose to use Kat before Shan). In the end with only a small bunch of NPCs to back me up as some were snagged on the boat twiddling thumbs (hence the headcount macros made after) - well anyway, I found she was going to take a bit to beat and I ever the experimentalist kited her finding I could rely on an NPCs -fly. When this goes to AVs on Invincible I will find out how well she resists the Vanguard/Phalanx pets powers.

To measure of a good scrapper build I would do this:

Take on the last mission of the last Ouroboros TF and see how high a setting you can solo it without dying and without leaving for more insps. Start on Invincible and work down in settings or character copy to test a few times and work up.

For each of us the builds gonna differ and that's going to mean for sure that whats right and whats wrong is subjective which is why guides are called guides.

My SR has done it on Unyielding, I gonna try Invincible at the coming weekend. If anyone wants to try it, it should hopefully prove interesting and challenging. The player behind the build matters on any scrapper most.

You get NPCs for team mates and if you're really good you get a proper group photo at the end of it all. I saved 12 NPCs upto Jade Spider (1 accident! Numina nooo! XD) and then lost 3 on Jade Spider (Infernal, Malaise and oh thats where my Bubbles went Sister Psyche).

No need to post results if anyone does it but I think that's a good test of a build and player...

Oh and I bet people start taking confront to achieve it

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1 of my first toons ever created, a emp/rad defender originaly on the US server was copied i believe 2 years ago to the EU.

In his time he gained like 12 lvls, mostly due joining up with friends/SG, but hardly.. well, never on a PuG. The old days of a happy dedicated healer are pretty much over (they always forget the buff part).

However, i recently started to play more on the US servers and gave my empath a go and see how it will turn out on PuG's.

Within like 2 minutes i already got the first PM and a team invite. Along with a sonic defender, the whole team protected us like we are not allowed to die or something.

So team scattered, i was solo again and within 5 minutes i got my next invite. Same story.

Would i however put myself on team-search on the EU, i can stand there for ages and never get a single invite. I'm a passive empath, i do not make teams, i dont advertise, i will wait for those who need me.

So is empath really that useless on the EU?

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Empaths aren't useless on the EU, Fire/Kins really do become more godly backed up by one who doesn't attack in order to react faster!

I think the protecting of the defender is a good thing, as they make the whole damn team look good which can mean that they can be something of a keystone.

I think maybe it's not a true perception you have. My empath leveled fast and I think so did everyone else's. Fewer people here make a team and they tend to favour other types of defenders more once they get passed a certain level.

I don't make teams much myself anymore as I may need to drop out the moment I've made it. Try entertaining the making of a team, then make someone a "point" and go from there. Just so that I barely ever have to throw a heal, even in the lower levels I can be as bossy as hell anyway.

Any type of tanker can perform badly around effects that cripple them. Ofc people choose powers to get around the problems and some are funny about getting a certain defender for something.

Played right or with due caution, tanks can do their jobs, but there are times when, what it is you'd of rather done and actually got to do are two different things. Each tanker has strengths and weaknesses that some people rather overcome tactfully rather than dropping 3 fun powers (that complete their concept) for non fun powers that fix things.

When you have to tactfully go about things to succeed it doesn't help that some people in the team may prevent what it is you try to do for yours and their survivability and leave you/them in a compromised state as a result.

The changes to Invulnerability are more for those moments when you can't play to an Invulns strengths. I don't myself have a history of asking for Invulnerability to be fixed. It's because of reading combat attributes as I play, that certain things are 'highlighted' and so I am all for it.

I think changes can be made if Castle was to be so keen, so that when played to ones strengths an Invuln can feel the same as it is now, but at the same time, when it can't be played to its strengths Invulns can be more survivable than it is now. I say feel as what will be, would only lead to more survivability.

Before Willpower came out live and so using numbers on test it was already picked out as overall more survivable than Invulnerability, now plenty of players say the same after playing both. Meanwhile the Invulns passives are unattractive - less so to me as I stack my build with what is common to find other people in the team having to offer - but the proposed possibilities to make them more attractive would help bridge the gaps in multiple senses.

I do think Temp Protection could do with being more attractive too, Firetanks being a totally resistant set gets hit by every single secondary effect in its direction near enough, that got mentioned in the process and hopefully that'll happen too.

Fire/Fire has no auto hits without taunt. Reading the combat attributes, how low can your last chance tohit go?

All the way to the floor.

So at times Inv/Fire should be better. Invincible is autohit where as Blazing Aura isn't. Invincible ticks faster and has a longer duration taunt although Blazing Aura helps to lower fight duration better. One tick of my Invincible is 30 secs worth of taunt right there ; since the fix its been good! It'll hit when BA doesn't, more often and for longer, so its fairer to say slotting versus enemy is a factor, who I am teaming with is a factor when comparing Inv/Fire to Fire/Fire.

I was a big believer in surviving something because it's

a) Dead. Through offense you've lowered fight duration.
b) Hard controlled. You've lowered fight duration against self within a fight duration.
c) Soft controlled. Lowering enemy dps to sustainable levels.
d) Given less time and opportunity through perception and LoS.

Then there is knowing what the enemy can do, a Tanker should be aware of the enemies perception range, types of attacks, recharge times, ranges, etc, etc. Depending on the type of tanker you are as well, this can be inclusive of what an enemies level of defense is like, as picking the lowest defense target, will help to more likely get the gauntlet/combo with the effect relied upon.

I always believed that in order to know how to Tank, you must be able to talk about Defenders. They're there to help make the whole team look good and like it or not they make the whole team look good if you play to their strengths. If a Stonetank could do with SB "at times" then what other tankers can do with "at times" shouldn't lead to too much of an argument.

Add me more shields and I won't need to think as much but some enemies will be more fun in some teams rather than a worry. What good it will do however is offer me the flexibility required to better survive in teams that, although through dynamics they can all offer each other more team survivability than they know how to, do the opposite. I find myself telling people things about their characters just like people used to teach me things about mine anyways.

All in all, the game doesn't have to be a case of easily running in, taking damage easily and tauntbotting easily (as I do with my Stone). Risk sobers me up some.

Yep with 2 builds it can be like having a defensive stance for 8 man teams and a offensive stance for solo. My Shannon always had the offensive stance, no AT is needed and so there is nothing wrong with that but a second build would offer me more flexibility.