OneWhoBinds

Alas, until that mystical day when the devs will allow us to manually switch our Pet AI to preferring Melee, or preferring Range, I doubt we'll see much improvement. Right now, all the MM pets use the same AI. They finally tweak it so that the melee-oriented pets actually will engage in melee on their own... and now the Ranged oriented pets refuse to stay at range.

Note to the Devs... one AI can't cover all the pets!

Now, just to hope that this isn't an impossible situation...

Good evening.

Recently, I participated in a team working our way through Nova Praetoria and Imperial City.

It started out fine. PPD, Clockwork, Resistance, Syndicate... all were summarily defeated without much issue (save for a couple of occasions where the team got split.)

Then we fought the Ghouls. And promptly got curb-stomped.

We figured it was just a luck of the draw thing. The RNG hating all of us or liking the ghouls that time. A fluke. We regathered, psyched ourselves up, and went back in.

We died faster the second time.

We finally managed to get the first group down on the third try. The next group wiped us out with little effort.

That was the point we started losing people. After two more spectacular failures to move beyond the first area, we were down to 3 people, and the leader decided to go to a different mission (one without Ghouls in it...)

In retrospect, I can understand the issue. We approached the ghouls like they were everything else, had one person (a brute in this case) trying to hold the agro, while everyone else hit the group with everything they had.

Only, every time a ghoul dies, the ghouls around it get healed up. AoE attacks were basically counter productive, as one falls, and the rest go back to nearly full (if not all the way to full.)

So, has anyone worked out a good way to deal with Ghouls in a group?

I like the concept - it really appeals to me to have an additional power. Not sure if it should be another tier, though - it would probably end up being like the 5th powers in the Epic pools, an additional tier 2.

Still, some of these ideas have merit...

My suggested changes:

Fighting
- Mettle = Passive: a 10% boost to the characters HP.

Flight and Concealment both work.

Leaping
- Meteor Dive = Click: A teleport attack, with an animation of the character leaping upward, and then coming down at the target location. Does no damage, but does Knockdown (and maybe a Mag 2 stun?) to anything in a 15ft radius.

Presence
- Spirit Breaker = Click: A single target Damage and Recharge debuff. (At least, that's the best way I can figure to represent breaking an enemies fighting spirit...)

Medicine
- Booster Shot = Click: Single Ally +Regen, +Recovery buff. Also provides some protection from Regen and Recovery Debuffs. All effects last 60 seconds.

Speed
The idea is sound. Have it be a short durration (20 seconds at the most), and it onle affects Melee and Ranged positions.

Teleport
Bah! I don't think it would be game breaking to combine the two effects! And it would certainly make Teleporting more attractive to me...

Leadership
Put the Inspire Confidence buff here. I think it fits better...

Just my thoughts.

I just wish the view would default to Most Recent again, rather than Closest to Completion.

Is there any way to change that?

I've never found the single target damage output in Elec/ bad... oh, wait. Unless you are actually only using the single target attacks in your attack chain?

Electrical Melee has a fine single target attack chain... that happens to do some AoE damage. Do not hesitate to use Jacobs Ladder or Thunder Strike against a single opponent. You should find that sufficient for your needs. Of course, if there ARE other targets around, shifting position a bit to include them would be wise...

This combination is all about Endurance Sapping. Enemies with no endurance have a very hard time hurting you - or anyone else. Yes, fighting enemies with Energy Resistance can be frustrating... but its nothing you can't handle.

In the later parts of the game, try to work some defense into your build - 20% or so to all positions does wonders for your survival. Tough will also be a major help.

Here's a different question -

I managed to run through to level 19 in short order, and have begun backtracking for the badges I can still get. (Alas, I forgot about the morality badges... oh well...)

One enemy group that I've basically seen none of on my trip are the Seers. There is a badge associated with them, so where is a good place to find Seers?

Well, again, I won't claim to be a master, but I'll take a crack at this:

Personal opinion here, but I think you need to slot more Endurance Reduction. A lot of your powers in /Thermal come with a hefty Endurance cost, and you will be casting some of those a lot. Especially with as much recharge as you built into this...

Crack Whip... Never found it worth six slotting any personal attacks on a Mastermind, not even a Demon Summoner. Sure, the +Recharge proc is nice, but I'm not sure it's worth it... (Okay, the 100% Recharge is nice, but it only lasts for 5 seconds, meaning it has overall a minimal impact. Since you can't guarantee it firing, and can't maintain it... is it really worth the effort?)

Ah! Finally, something I can say is a poor move! Don't waste slots enhancing your Demon's heals! This is for two reasons. First, it only applies to the Ember Demon, the Hellfire Gargoyle gets nothing from this. Second... Enhancing a pet's heal means the pet heals less.

I know, that sounds weird, but its true. Pets will only use their heal if they have a target that can be heal for the entire amount. If it heals for 100 hp, it won't use it on a target that is only hurt for 99. You will want the Ember Demon to be healing as often as it can... which means you have to leave it with its base heal. I'd fill those slots out with more pet sets, or (if you have to enhance a secondary effect) boosting resistance. Frankly, I think building up the killing machine of the Hellfire Gargoyle is better than building up the Ember Demon's support values... but that may just be me.

I personally put Gaussian's in Forge, but then again, I couldn't fit in Tactics in my build. I may change that...

Demon Prince... okay, two things. First, I am not sure of the value of enhancing the slows. I'm not sure it is worth it... but I haven't gotten him yet, so I admit I don't know. On the other hand, I do know that the Demon Prince uses a LOT of Endurance. You need much more Endurance Reduction in it. Also... Soulbound Allegiance might be a purple set, but I don't think it's worth the values. Especially that proc! Unless I'm reading this wrong, it has a 17% chance to give YOU, the Mastermind, a 5 second Build Up after you summon it? This is worth slotting it for? How many times do you expect to be resummoning your Prince in the middle of a battle?

I would personally have suggested working Hasten in earlier, but hey...

And there you go , taunting me with how superior Scorpion Shield is to Frozen Armor.... Darn it, and my insistence that my personal DS/Therm will never go Red Side...

Over all, I think you need to put in more Endurance Reduction (Especially in the Demon Prince), but otherwise I think it will work. I personally think you are missing out by not putting in at least one other personal attack - half the reason to play DS is the novelty of having a reason to take those attacks - but I admit that's immaterial.

In fact, I may incorporate some of this when I19 hits, and I get some space for new powers... Now to decide between Tactics, Assault, Thaw, and Power of the Phoenix...

...

Yeah...

Um...

You're skipping Impale? Really?

And... what is it with slotting Numina's Unique into Healing Flame? Move one slot from Healing Flame, put it in Health, and slot the unique there. That will ensure you always get its benefit.

Frankly, you need to work on your single target chain. Even a Farmer needs one - you'll come across single hard targets occasionally.

Also, this seems to be focused on using the Epic power Fireball. Nice concept, I'm not sure its worth the effort. Throw Spines, Spine Burst, and the Damage Auras will likely be more than enough for taking out most of a spawn. Ripper, Burn, and even Consume will probably handle the rest.

Honestly, you are planning on a lot of very expensive enhancements, yet all together make a character that looks very fragile to me. I'm not sure this character can survive long enough to be a successful Farmer.

Just my opinions, of course.

Okay... what level are you?

Because if you find yourself constantly bottoming out on your Blue Bar, I suspect you need to slot Endurance Reduction into your ATTACK powers, more than into your Shields.

Ideally, you will eventually want at least 1 SO worth of End reduction in each shield. Before you can get them, however, you will need to use your judgment if End Reduction is worth more than the defense boost.

But, you need to slot your attacks for Accuracy and Endurance over everything else! Fury will take care of your damage, brawl can easily fill any holes, but hitting more often and using less Endurance to attack is what a low level Brute needs the most.