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Oedipus_Tex

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  1. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Zubenelgenubi View Post
    notice that you still haven't told us all the details of the 'troller you are playing (secondary? power selections?), or the name of the Elite Boss. Could it be that if you do so, someone with a 'troller of that type will go and run the mission and show that it isn't nearly as hard as you say it is? Just guessing here. (Nor have you told us your difficulty settings.)

    So until you give up more details, I'm calling Shenanigan.

    What is your obsession with getting details on the encounter? I didn't ask you for a strategy guide on how to beat an elite boss. I normally try to be a bit more reserved but your post is completely off topic. If you want to come up with strategies for beating elite bosses please go do it somewhere else. I'm just concentrated on which mission arcs they show up in not getting into a fight with you about whether I personally suck at fighting them. Meanwhile if you want to go fight elite bosses with lvl 25 Mind/Ice/Earth Controllers knock yourself out.

    EDIT: And by the way:

    Quote:
    Person A is unpopular.
    You said something that Person A would agree with.
    Therefore you are wrong.
    Should be:

    Person A said something.
    You said something Person A said.
    Therefore... you said something Person A said.
  2. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    So after the ambush, load up on inspirations and take him down. If you never lost a fight, it wouldn't be much of a game. And trollers have a lot of tricks. Adjust your strategy and try again.
    There was this guy named Jack once who said the same thing.

    I wonder whatever happened to him?

    P.S. I had already tried running out of the mission thing. He stayed in ambush mode. Unlike a typical epic boss he could not be slept. He may have had some kind of tank armor because no controls did anything. He chased me shooting Power Bolts that kept me on my back. I have exactly zero desire to try to solo through that. In a normal mission I'd say screw it and abandon. Luckily this was only three missions into an arc. Had I known the mission difficulty was going to ramp from leisurely to Jedi trial I wouldn't have attempted it. Some people may find that fun but those people also spend a lot more time *preparing* for such an encounter. Please see above for the suggestion that I just "bring a Shivan."

    Anyway I'm much less concerned about the specifics of this particular fight than with the fact that epic bosses are frustrating and I have no way to recruit additional team members once I've encountered them. If I knew ahead of time I'd be happy to form a team.
  3. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by _Klaw_ View Post
    /Unsigned. Team oriented toons should team. If you want to solo evey story arc build a solo toon.
    Great. So tell me which missions I need to have a team for and I'm all for it. What's frustrating is to be able to solo all the way up to a certain point and then have it all for naught when you run into an elite boss. I just want a warning ahead of time so I don't get stuck having to drop out of the whole arc because it's too hard. Bring on the team--but tell me about it.
  4. Oedipus_Tex
    So I have to tell you why I kind of get frustrated with Ouroborus. It goes something like this:

    You are a lowly Controller or Defender making your way through a series of Ouro missions. It's slow going but you weren't built for speed or high kill rate anyway.

    You're thirty minutes or an hour in and things seem to be going well. Then, it happens. Out of nowhere an epic boss shows up, and its the end of the road. You're completely screwed by a brick wall of difficulty. The fight isn't just frustrating, it's designed to be impossible (for you). You can't invite any new teammates. You can't really do *anything* except abandon the arc, and next time wise up to the fact that you have to research any missions online before accepting them, because the mission arc is, frankly, unwinnable, but it won't reveal this to you until the very end.

    As I'm writing this I've just been killed in a mission where my Mind troller, who incidentally is actually lvl 50 and very well IO'd but by no means capable of soloing an epic boss, was forced to deal with an *ambush* from an epic boss who is immune to hold, sleep, confusion, fear, and knockdown, who fires energy blasts and has a spin kick power that takes away half my lifebar in one move and also stuns me. Now I'm not saying such missions shouldn't exist. I just want fair warning like we get in the AE so I don't waste my time even attempting something like this. It would be one thing if it were a normal mission where I could recruit a team, but now I'm just stuck, and a bit annoyed.

    Thanks for your time.
  5. Oedipus_Tex

    g-a-y supergroup

    POST-ACTION

    It feels like I should have a lot to say about this, but I don't feel like sharing it all. If the guy had asked where he could find a intergalactic space angel supergroup it would have passed without comment. Joining a "gay" supergroup doesn't mean the player is gay anymore than me running around with a double-d bust and skin tight lycra makes me a hot chick. Not a big deal.

    Though I can't believe it's 2010 and someone actually went there with the "throwing it in people's faces" schtick.

    [EDIT: NM, looks that was back in 2009. :P]
  6. Oedipus_Tex

    Fiery Aura

    POST-ACTION

    Burn would be great if it worked like Glue Arrow and any enemy who touched it "caught on fire." The burning animation already exists (it's used by Melt Armor). It would need to be coded so that the enemy can only catch on fire once per individual burn patch (easy enough, IMO). You might keep some damage in the actual pet animation since the enemy is, in fact, standing in a fire, but the majority of the damage could be moved to the burning effect.
  7. Oedipus_Tex

    Buff Trick Arrows!

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tyrrano View Post
    What if TA were able to fire two or three powers simultaneously? Imagine hitting a Lt. with Ice to hold him and Glue to debuff his friends with the first shot, or locking down a boss with Ice+EMP. How useful would it be to lay down OSA and DIsrupt together?

    I'd actually really like this. I also think it's doable.

    Here's one technical approach: You could change some (maybe not all) of the TA arrows into toggles like the Dual Pistols ammos that have a very quick "loading arrow" animation. Then you have a "Payload Arrow" power (or, better, change Entangling Arrow) that has stats that turn on or off like DP does. When you fire the "Payload Arrow" it releases all of the "loaded" arrows at once. Firing the arrow would also cancel the toggles, so you have to reload for the next shot. Animation times could be normalized to prevent it from becoming too hard to shoot in battle. You could even make it so certain arrow combos create desired effects. For example, Flash Arrow + Oil Slick = an auto-lighting slick.

    Yes I know "cottage rules" and all that. But a man has to have dreams.
  8. Oedipus_Tex
    I haven't slotted the +Run yet or looked at its price. I need to do some research on it actually. What I'm hoping is that it doesn't suppress speed in combat. Speed suppression is one of the main annoying things about this character. When super speed is on all the time, the rate of speed change can be sort of jarring.

    Other than that, the reason I skipped Kismet (so far) is price. That thing is ridiculously expensive, and for the price in merits it would cost me I could ship a LotG to another character. That's the only reason I left it out so far. I may add it back in.
  9. Oedipus_Tex
    Partly built it, tested it, love it. The character appears very capable of surviving on teams Stamina-free. Heat Loss isn't granting enough endurance to keep the blue bar perma-full like before, but I was successful completing missions with Super Speed, Combat Jumping, Temporary Invul, and Arctic Fog up at the same time.

    You guys were right about Mesmerize. I can't believe how awesome that power is. I guess that's what stubbornness gets me.

    For anyone who decides to follow my footsteps keep in mind this character has three of the endurance accolades, is already lvl 50, and is my main character who already had many of these IO sets. I would never try this as a leveling build, as the endurance use is too brutal until I got some serious slotting.

    Best Features: The knockdown proc in Terrify is hilarious. It's like you run up and yell 'boo' and 3 or 4 mobs are so scared they collapse. But even funnier when they are low level and go flying backwards in fear. I'm keeping it in there for now, keeping options open to respec later and replace it with a Recharge IO to make the power come back faster.

    Worst Features: For the first time in months I actually have to worry about endurance. Kind of. I can actually stay invisible by turning off Super Speed, and flicking Sprint on and then back off. The Stealth IO is a proc that lasts two minutes after I activate it. The endurance thing is actually pretty manageable. Though I did catch myself eating a blue at a mission door after team buffing which never, ever happened before.

    Now if whoever cornered the market last night would just let some Scientific Theories onto the market I could slot my final Decimation pieces. :P
  10. Oedipus_Tex

    Buff Trick Arrows!

    POST-ACTION

    Flash Arrow wouldn't be half bad if enemies were as crippled by -Perception as players are.

    I'd suggested elsewhere that Flash Arrow have a very short -Range component (~3 seconds) to compliment the slows and nets. Not sure I'm totally behind it but it's still not edging into Rad/Cold/Kin/Traps levels of power.

    Someone suggested somewhere having the Disruption Arrow beacon be an attackable object with a Taunt aura. That may have been in this thread. I thought that idea was epic.

    This is a more sweeping comment, but IMO it may be time to consider giving Defenders Controller mods for mezzes. This was already done for Controllers with run speed. Several of the Defender sets now replace buff/debuffs with controls and they really ought to be at least as good as using them as a Controller is. I don't know about Corruptors or Masterminds, but this would be a big lift for Defenders. I also truly don't believe we have any reason to think this will lead to Defenders out-controlling Controllers because they lack access to enough control powers for that to happen. IMO the old AT mods for Controllers made more sense when Controllers were a lower damage AT and Defenders, particularly the Controller-y ones, could use the lift.
  11. Oedipus_Tex
    Ok after some significant changes here is the build again. I actually did end up doing some of the things I originally said I wouldn't. Namely, taking Mesmerize (the ability to sleep AVs has become increasingly important).

    This build is extremely expensive. Luckily I already have most of these pieces. The main ones I'm lacking are some of the Hami-Os, and the purple Apocalpyse set, and two of the purple Unnbreakable Constraints. Too bad those pieces are going to almost cost more than the overall cost of the rest of the build. I'm ok with leaving them out for now and having as eventual goals. Luckily I already have the purple Confuse set, the purple Sleep set, and Ragnarok Knockdown, and the Luck of the Gamblers, so I think I'll function ok.

    Exemping down is kind of the wildcard here. What I figured in the end is that when exemped down on teams I almost use no other power than Confuse and something stay invisible, so I should be fine there. (Because its slotted with Purples, I keep the full Recharge speed and duration on that power when exemped to any level, so it outclasses anything else I might use.)

    When exemping for soloing Ouroborus missions, which I do from time to time, I think I will still be ok sans Stamina and Heat Loss. I've got an AoE sleep that Recharges in 14-20 seconds (again, slotted with Purples), an aggroless and stackable Confuse power that recharges in 2-3 seconds, and 3 single target blasts-controls, so I really have no excuse for dying even if things are a bit slow.

    [EDIT: Previous version included Frostwork, which I meant to switch for Combat Jumping. I just havent been sold on Frostwork as a whole on a character with no healing capability who frequently spends time away from the main team.]

    Here is the build:


    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    6-9-10 Cold Reader NO STAM2: Level 50 Natural Controller
    Primary Power Set: Mind Control
    Secondary Power Set: Cold Domination
    Power Pool: Speed
    Power Pool: Teleportation
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Ancillary Pool: Primal Forces Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Levitate -- Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg(3), Apoc-Acc/Rchg(15), Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Dev'n-Hold%(39), Apoc-Dam%(48)
    Level 1: Infrigidate -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 2: Dominate -- BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(A), BasGaze-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(3), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(5), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(11), HO:Nucle(11), Dmg-I(13)
    Level 4: Mesmerize -- Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Decim-Acc/Dmg(5), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(25), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(43), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
    Level 6: Confuse -- CoPers-Conf/EndRdx(A), CoPers-Conf/Rchg(7), CoPers-Acc/Conf/Rchg(7), CoPers-Conf%(13), CoPers-Acc/Rchg(15)
    Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(9), RechRdx-I(9)
    Level 10: Ice Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(17)
    Level 12: Recall Friend -- Zephyr-ResKB(A)
    Level 14: Super Speed -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 16: Mass Hypnosis -- FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx(A), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg(17), FtnHyp-Plct%(21), FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg(29), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg(33)
    Level 18: Total Domination -- UbrkCons-Hold(A), UbrkCons-Hold/Rchg(19), UbrkCons-Acc/Hold/Rchg(19), UbrkCons-Acc/Rchg(23), UbrkCons-EndRdx/Hold(25), Lock-%Hold(40)
    Level 20: Arctic Fog -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(21), GftotA-Run+(23), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(48)
    Level 22: Glacial Shield -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(43)
    Level 24: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A)
    Level 26: Terrify -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(27), Posi-Dmg/Rng(27), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), Posi-Dam%(31), Ragnrk-Knock%(37)
    Level 28: Benumb -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(36), Acc-I(37)
    Level 30: Snow Storm -- HO:Micro(A)
    Level 32: Mass Confusion -- Mlais-Acc/Rchg(A), Mlais-EndRdx/Conf(33), Mlais-Acc/EndRdx(33), Mlais-Conf/Rng(34), Mlais-Acc/Conf/Rchg(34), RechRdx-I(34)
    Level 35: Sleet -- Achilles-ResDeb%(A), LdyGrey-DefDeb/Rchg(36), UndDef-DefDeb/Rchg(36), LdyGrey-%Dam(37), Posi-Dam%(40), UndDef-DefDeb/Rchg/EndRdx(46)
    Level 38: Heat Loss -- Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(39), RechRdx-I(39), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(40), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(46)
    Level 41: Power Blast -- Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Decim-Acc/Dmg(42), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(42), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(43)
    Level 44: Energy Torrent -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Posi-Dmg/Rng(45), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(46), FrcFbk-Rechg%(50)
    Level 47: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48)
    Level 49: Temp Invulnerability -- HO:Ribo(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx(50)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Containment
    Level 0: Ninja Run
    ------------
    Set Bonus Totals:
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
    • 12.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
    • 2.5% Defense(Energy)
    • 2.5% Defense(Negative)
    • 1.25% Defense(Ranged)
    • 4.5% Max End
    • 48% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 108.8% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    • 6.5% Enhancement(Confused)
    • 80.1 HP (7.88%) HitPoints
    • Knockback (Mag -4)
    • Knockup (Mag -4)
    • MezResist(Immobilize) 5.5%
    • 23% (0.38 End/sec) Recovery
    • 56% (2.38 HP/sec) Regeneration
    • 8.19% Resistance(Fire)
    • 8.19% Resistance(Cold)
    • 7.5% RunSpeed



    Code: 
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  12. Oedipus_Tex

    Plant/Rad?

    POST-ACTION

    While we're listing horrifying enemies.. how about the rularuu eyeballs? I did the Shadow Shard TF with my Mind Controller and remember them being absolutely awful to deal with. But they also see through invisibility, which may have made it particularly challenging for that character.
  13. Oedipus_Tex
    Sounds like you are having a blast.

    One of the dirtiest tricks in /Storm, by the way, is powering up Hurricane and using that moment to fire Aid Self. The enemies who havent been sent flying are under a massive -ToHit penalty, and if they can't hit you, they can't interupt the power. Call it a "ghetto PFF." That's if you actually decide to spec into the Healing pool of course.
  14. Oedipus_Tex
    Very nice build Local Man. I wish I'd had access to it before I exiled my Ill/TA to the Freedom server during the free server transfer period.

    I have a few small suggestions for anyone who might decide to use this build. I'd be tempted to try dropping Ice Arrow and changing it to Combat Jumping. Not because you need the defense or the immob protection (though those are nice) but because it opens another easy slot to drop a Luck of the Gambler +Recharge in, granting as much Recharge in one slot as all 4 of the Basilisk's Gaze set in Ice Arrow currently do. [To those unfamiliar, LoTG is an extremely expensive piece, but attainable if you're willing to do task forces as you level up and save your merits. Each LoTG costs 200 merits--that's a lot, but its definitely worth it. The market price hovers around 150 million influence or so for one of these.]

    The other reason I'm suggesting skipping Ice Arrow, btw, is that the need to hold bosses quickly is somewhat less important on Illusion due to the invincible pets taking aggro and the awesomeness of Deceiving bosses before they can see you.

    I also noticed the build has Fly at lvl 12 with no pre-reqs... vet reward related? Anyway the Flight pool is currently taking the 4th power pool slot, so if someone did follow my suggestion they'd have to swap out Flight. The way Fly is slotted right now is odd to me btw... the second Zephyr is granting defense, but you could get more putting a 6th slot in Deceive for the +5 Ranged defense that gives. Unless you're doing that for actual flight speed. Personally I'd consider dropping Flight (I'm not enough of a vet to take it at that level anyway), and swapping it for Super Speed since you already have the prereq (Hasten).

    BTW I've never seen that kind of slotting in Health for a Controller before. Not questioning it, but usually I see either one slotted with Numina, two slotted with Numina +Miracle, or 1 slotted with a simple Health IO for budget builds. Is there a reason you slotted yours this way?

    [EDIT: It occured to me you might have fly as a way to get off the ground when fighting AVs. If that's so, would a non-vet like the rest of us be better off with Hover, which also accepts the LoTG set?]

    Great job--sorry to nitpick so much.
  15. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rigel_Kent View Post
    That makes it an autohit 300 damage and 14 seconds high mag stun against +4s when slotted. Even more damage if you've Melted Armor. I don't see a reason to skip it there.
    I don't know that I've ever seen Power of the Phoenix slotted for damage or stun. I think that would be hard to do given how slot hungry Thermal is as a whole. Hard for me to picture. Maaaybe you could put some Hami-Os in there... but actually hitting the edge of ED for either damage or stun, let alone both, while retaining decent recharge (and having enough dead people around to use it) and keeping all your other powers well slotted sounds like a longshot.
  16. Oedipus_Tex
    Hate to tell you this but Force Bolt is Mag 18.7. It's pretty much impossible to defend against. If the toon actually slots it up, its mag 50-something. But very rare in the field, and most teams hate it so rare on Force Field Defenders too.
  17. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Windenergy21 View Post
    I would certainly not consider fire as "mainly" devoted to damage, it has some good control options, really the damage from hotfeet, and the damage that imps do over other pets is about the only difference to initiate that stigma, otherwise its a pretty standard control set.

    I wouldn't call it a "stigma" I'd call it an "edge." It's your choice whether to play to it or not. I'm certainly not saying you have to do it, but take a look at Fire's control options:

    Single Target Hold - same as all Controllers
    AoE Hold - same as all Controllers but requires melee-ish range
    AoE Stun - shared with Earth Control

    I guess we could throw Bonfire in there somewhere. I don't even know what to think of that powers. It's ok but IMO more "interesting" than "competitive" with controls from other primaries.

    As a ranged Controller Fire is basically outclassed on all sides. It's just not a huge strength of the set, which is why I said unless you're doing it for concept you are, IMO, better off with a different primary if you plan to skip Hot Feet. Earth/Thermal for example has almost exactly as much damage (about .5 less damage in Cages), a much sturdier pet that won't die and drag aggro back to you, and better and further reaching control options than the Hot Feet-less Fire Controller.

    Fire Control is just kind of a "psycho" set. It's inherently risky but the payoff is you get around the main Controller strangle hold, and get decent damage--IF you take the powers that provide that. It's definitely not a set I'd ever pick for its ability to be cautious; for that I'd say Mind or Illusion completely blows it away. Can't argue with concept of course, but I did want to put that out there for people new to the sets.
  18. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Muon_Neutrino View Post
    This is my obligatory 'joke catgirl' character, sparked purely by a joking suggestion of the name by someone here on the forums a long time ago. Unfortunately, 'Schrodinger's Catgirl' is one character too long, so the apostrophe had to get the axe. I think it works out well regardless.

    Illusion/sonic, with recall, teleport, and the day job rez other. Got it all - quantum duplication, quantum teleportation, strange noise-based powers, putting teammates into superpositions of being alive and dead, confusing the heck out of people and leaving them trembling in fear with the mind-bendingly crazy math involved...
    Love her
  19. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MaxLongstreet View Post
    A bit off topic Tex, but how are you enjoying 'Cold Reader'? I remember you talking about your mind/cold and the direction you were taking it in - how'd it turn out for you?
    Went well. I play him and my Scrapper the most these days. I never did change his IO slotting though. I am kind of waiting to see what GR brings before making any major moves. And also, the character is so effective even without changes it's hard to muster the energy to respec him, even though I know he could be better.
  20. Oedipus_Tex
    Nice build, but I have a nitpick. I know some people disagree but I'm always a proponent of taking Hot Feet on any Fire Control build. Damage is the main thing Fire Control's got over the other Control sets, but only if you take the powers that actually deliver it. I know some folks prefer to play from range, but, IMO, unless you're doing it for concept reasons, you're better off with a different set than skipping one of the best AoE damage powers in a set that's mainly devoted to damage.

    IMO trying to play Fire Control in the style of other, control heavy sets is mistake. You do have one pretty good ranged control. But all it takes is one Dispersion Bubble and enemies are immune to all of your controls. Flexibility is not a strength of Fire Control; you want the ability to win by brute force.
  21. Oedipus_Tex

    My Lonely Scrapper

    POST-ACTION

    Something has... happened to this character.

    I went with the build, but didnt sink all of my money into it just yet. The main expensive pieces I got were a Luck of the Gambler +Recharge, the Performance Shifter Proc, and the full Doctored Wounds set. Then I headed into the world to see what would happen.

    Suddenly this character is awesome. She is kicking more butt than at any time since I created her last year. She can definitely still die--Rise of the Phoenix came in handy more than once. But what's different is she now lasts long enough and puts out enough damage that things just die all around her, and inspirations come pouring in like rain. I then eat said inspirations, resulting in faster and faster kills speeds. Is THIS what being a Scrapper is all about? Because I can do some more of this. The suggestion to take the Fighting pool is the main thing I'd credit, coupled with the encouragement to go out and push limits. Thanks guys this character is suddenly a lot more fun than I thought she would be.
  22. Oedipus_Tex

    My Lonely Scrapper

    POST-ACTION

    Thanks again for the help guys. I tweaked a few things and have what I think I'm going to roll with. Some of it may be a huge mistake, but IMO it's a mistake I have to make since I'm headed into uncharted territory for me. Regardless I think this character will be a heck of a lot better than she is right now.

    Main changes are:
    - I ended up frankenslotting Blazing Aura to open up slots elsewhere, as suggested.
    - Changed slotting on Fire Blast to open slots elsewhere. Tried several combos, ended up with 4 Thunderstrikes to preserve some global Accuracy, which has steadily been dropping from build to build. If global Accuracy proves to be ok, could change this final IO to a different set in order to get better Recharge/Endurance from Fire Blast.
    - Changed Parry slotting to add a damage IO, but kept the Hami-Os there, particularly the Accuracy / Defense Debuff. This HO actually both increases Defense Debuff and increases +Defense, in this case grantiing an extra +4 defense.
    - Added third recharge IO to Fiery Embrace. The power recharges 5 seconds faster than previously.
    - Changed BotZ KB protection to Karma KB Protection
    - Eliminated HO from Hack slotting as suggested
    - Kept Recharge IO in Rise of the Phoenix instead of Heal
    - Used 3 slotted LotG in Weave. Considered exchanging the LotG Defense/End/Recharge IO for Red Fortune Def/End, then realized the difference is 0.01% endurance. Went ahead and kept the 3 piece set for the extra HP.
    - Kept the Oblits in various powers despite warnings. This may turn out to suck. Luckily respecs aren't terribly hard to come by if I have just gimped my character. Also figure that as long as this character has gone without Tough/Weave, turning them off when they aren't needed could save a lot of energy.

    I can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone's time. Thanks for helping me understand what I'm supposed to be looking at when building this character. I'm sure I've still got some stuff to find out, but thats what playing the game is for, right?


    Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.621
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Joan of Arkansas 6_7_10 B: Level 50 Magic Scrapper
    Primary Power Set: Broad Sword
    Secondary Power Set: Fiery Aura
    Power Pool: Fitness
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Ancillary Pool: Blaze Mastery

    Hero Profile:
    Level 1: Hack -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx(23), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg(23), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(25)
    Level 1: Fire Shield -- RctvArm-ResDam(A), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(5), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(9), RctvArm-EndRdx(15)
    Level 2: Slice -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(3), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(3), Oblit-%Dam(9), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17)
    Level 4: Healing Flames -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(7), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(36), Dct'dW-Rchg(43)
    Level 6: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(7)
    Level 8: Parry -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), HO:Nucle(13), HO:Lyso(17), Dmg-I(46)
    Level 10: Blazing Aura -- M'Strk-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), M'Strk-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(13)
    Level 12: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
    Level 14: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(43)
    Level 16: Plasma Shield -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), RctvArm-ResDam(19), RctvArm-EndRdx(37), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(39)
    Level 18: Whirling Sword -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(19), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Oblit-%Dam(43)
    Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), P'Shift-End%(21), P'Shift-EndMod(21)
    Level 22: Consume -- Efficacy-EndMod/Acc(A), Efficacy-Acc/Rchg(39), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(39), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg(40)
    Level 24: Boxing -- Acc-I(A)
    Level 26: Disembowel -- Mako-Acc/Dmg(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Mako-Dmg/Rchg(27), Mako-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(31), Mako-Dam%(31)
    Level 28: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), Ksmt-ToHit+(29), LkGmblr-Def(37), Krma-ResKB(46)
    Level 30: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx(A), RctvArm-EndRdx(31), RctvArm-ResDam(33), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(33)
    Level 32: Head Splitter -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(33), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(34), Oblit-%Dam(37)
    Level 35: Fiery Embrace -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(46)
    Level 38: Rise of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A)
    Level 41: Char -- BasGaze-Acc/Rchg(A), BasGaze-Acc/Hold(42), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold(42), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(42)
    Level 44: Fire Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(45)
    Level 47: Fire Ball -- Posi-Dmg/Rchg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
    Level 49: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(50), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Critical Hit
    Level 4: Ninja Run
    ------------
    Set Bonus Totals:
    • 12% DamageBuff(Smashing)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Lethal)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Fire)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Cold)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Energy)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Negative)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Toxic)
    • 12% DamageBuff(Psionic)
    • 14.9% Defense(Smashing)
    • 14.9% Defense(Lethal)
    • 3% Defense(Fire)
    • 3% Defense(Cold)
    • 13.6% Defense(Energy)
    • 13.6% Defense(Negative)
    • 3% Defense(Psionic)
    • 17.4% Defense(Melee)
    • 11.1% Defense(Ranged)
    • 3% Defense(AoE)
    • 43% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 4% Enhancement(Heal)
    • 56.3% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    • 5% FlySpeed
    • 70.3 HP (5.25%) HitPoints
    • 5% JumpHeight
    • 5% JumpSpeed
    • Knockback (Mag -4)
    • Knockup (Mag -4)
    • MezResist(Held) 3.3%
    • MezResist(Immobilize) 9.35%
    • MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%
    • MezResist(Stun) 6.6%
    • MezResist(Terrorized) 2.2%
    • 8% (0.13 End/sec) Recovery
    • 40% (2.24 HP/sec) Regeneration
    • 2.84% Resistance(Fire)
    • 2.84% Resistance(Cold)
    • 5% RunSpeed



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  23. Oedipus_Tex
    I always skip Power of the Phoenix. It does do a Mag 4 stun and 300 points of damage, which would be useful, except that to leverage that you need to slot them. If you use this power unslotted on a +4 enemy group (the main situation where you have an excuse for someone having died), it does only about 150 damage and the stun lasts just 7 seconds. For this it costs 1/2 of your endurance bar--it is the single most endurance expensive power Controllers can take. It also simultaneously draws aggro to you while making the rezzee untouchable. Did you just rezz the tank? Well, now you get to have his aggro and he can't steal it back for 15 seconds.

    Then there is the 300 second Recharge time. The rezz in Empathy, Pain, and Radiation recharges in 180 seconds; this takes 300.

    The PBAoE power Rise of the Phoenix available in our epic power pool is a different story. IMO that power is almost better than having a resistance shield, because it avoids two of the big issues of Power of the Phoenix; when it draws aggro to you you're invulnerable and enemies immediately lose interest, and rather than cost half your endurance bar it gives it half back. That power gives you the freedom to play like a kamikaze and has been the foundation of some of my most daring and ridiculous victories.
  24. Oedipus_Tex
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Athanatosis View Post
    Hate to bring up WoW, but when the new team took over recently they changed all the 2 minute buffs to 15-30 minute buffs because they realized how annoying it was for people to have to put them up all the time.

    As it stands, without taking much away from their overall performance kins can keep the entire team speed boosted indefinitely. A lot of people expect as much from them, or at least close to it. It makes buff classes overall less desirable to play because it's so annoying having to buff that often. Either you take away from the team's potential to succeed or to steamroll, or you put yourself out and deal with the constant annoyance of buffing 7 other people so frequently.

    I see where you're coming from but what you're saying is that SB should take away from the overall performance of a class, in the name of balance, because they have to spend so much time keeping it up if they want to have it up most of the time. That's not right. That's not fun for anyone. Would anyone really complain if SB was exactly the same just with a much longer duration? I don't think that's the kind of "overpowered" people get jealous over. It's only beneficial to them... Much more kins would use SB and keep it up (without even expecting people to beg for it, like OP!) The only complaint I could see is that the other buff classes still have to buff everyone every two minutes, in which case they should just change most of those buffs to have longer durations as well.

    Hell, I'd even be happy with them just making it a "buff one person and everyone else gets it" buff. That way it's less of a hassle for the person in charge of it.

    I think the duration should be longer. Agreed.

    The way I'd achieve it though is to make the base duration the same but have the power refresh duration if the original caster hits them with Transfusion (the AoE heal) while the power is active. That way people couldn't just gather under the Atlas Statue and get their 30 minute long buffs (a significant problem in some games). You'd have to actually stick wit the buffer. This also protects buffing ATs from getting stuck buffing teams at mission entrances and then left behind so the "real" ATs can go take care of business.

    I'd approach Force Field, Sonic Res (refresh if they touch your big bubbles), Thermal (refreshed if you hit them with the AoE heal) and Cold Dom (refreshed if you hit them with Arctic Fog) the same way to reduce clicking. But I am probably just dreaming.
  25. Oedipus_Tex
    BTW to any of you hoping to get shots of your characters in game, this is something else I recently learned. If you hit the Print Screen button on your keyboard, the game takes a JPG screenshot and automatically saves it to a folder called "screenshots" in your City of Heroes game folder (for me its C:\Program Files (x86)\City of Heroes\screenshots--this changes depending on the version of Windows you're using or if you installed to a different folder.) The screenshot provides a full view of the scene and does not include any UI elements.

    I (badly) Photoshop-ed my character bios on top of the pics I took. That isn't necessary to participate in this thread of course.

    Also for those of you with no middle mouse button (or people like me who are crazy and play with a touch-pad) you can swing the camera around to face your character by going to the Options menu, opening the Keymapping, and finding the one that says "Rotate Camera." Change this to a keyboard key (I used the number '8' on the numpad). Now to rotate the camera, hold down that key and move the camera as normal--the camera will move without rotating your hero, allowing you to swing the camera around to see him or her. To reset the camera when in this mode, simply zoom in close to the hero and then zoom out.

    Hope that helps spur some of you to take some quick shots.