OneWhoBinds

Lets see... proliferation I would like to see...

Blasters: Dark Blast and a Dark Manipulation set
Controllers: Traps
Defenders: Thermal Radiation & Fire Blast
Scrappers: Battle Axe & War Mace, Energy Aura
Tankers: Broad Sword, & Energy Aura

Brutes: Ice Melee & Ice Armor
Corruptors: Psychic Blast (Defender version!) and maybe... Poison?
Dominators: As I don't think Illusions will work for the Dominator AT... a Dark Assault set?
Masterminds: I guess either Sonic Resonance or Cold Domination.
Stalkers: Ice Melee & Ice Armor

I admit, though, that the main reason I want Energy Aura proliferated... is so the Devs will be forced to fix it. ^^;

I have to chime in as well for grabbing Aid Other. A the advantage a single target heal gives to any Mastermind can not be overstated! And between yourself and the heal in your Prot Bots, keeping your 'bots alive is much easier.

Personally, I ran with taking the Pulse Rifle Burst at level 4, and used a respec in the early 30s to replace it with the Triage Beacon. Yes, I have both Aid Other and the Triage Beacon - the Beacon is very situational, but one such situation - tackling a particularly hard target like an EB or higher - is actually very regular in CoV. There, you aren't likely to be running around alot, and boosting the regen of all your pets (and yourself) can make recovering from a particularly strong attack much easier.

My opinions -

Web Grenade - Okay for what it is, but it does hurt the set, especially early on. In the low levels, the added bits of damage in these tier 1 secondaries help tremendously... the lack of it in Devices shows. Now, if that was it, then I'd say suck it up and move on... but unlike in Traps, where an immobilized target is ideal for both the Acid Mortar and the Poison Gas Trap, there is nothing in Devices that can be helped by immobilizing a target. In short, a power that is, at best, moderately useful, and never gets better.

Caltrops - Can't complain about this one. It works fine as is, as an area of denial power. I can be somewhat counter-intuitive in the set, as the inclination is to use it around mines, which can quite often lead to the enemies running away from the catrops without setting off the mines. Still, a very good deterrent for a lot of enemies that like to melee.

Taser - I suppose its good if you have something to stack it with. Otherwise... it's rather lackluster. Yeah, with the right slotting, you can stun a boss with this alone, but it still seems... lacking. My suggestion: bring the damage up to make it in line with the Tier 1 immobilizes/knockbacks of the other sets. Another source of direct damage, with the stun attached... that would be more attractive.

Targeting Drone - Once a defining power of the set, the Drone now languishes behind. As has been mentioned, the Leadership power Tactics can be just as effective, and buff your teammates at the same time. Alas, there aren't many ways this could be improved without breaking its theme. First (and primarily) the bonus damage it applies to the Sniper Rifle should be extended to all Sniper attacks. Second, perhaps a general boost to range would be a nice bonus? A 20% increase to the effective range of all the character's attacks? If nothing else, it would be something different that Targeting Drone could offer that Tactics could not.

Smoke Grenade - This one I am unsure of. The Perception debuff is nice... if you are stealthing a mission. The -To Hit is negligible without something else to stack on it... of which there is nothing. Again, I can't really see many ways to shore up this power without defeating the purpose.

Cloaking Devise - Ooh... stealth. That's it. Stealth. Again, good for what it is... but that is all that it is. I like the concept of giving the character using this the 'Stealth Strike' ability, as seen in PPD Ghosts, but I can understand if that can't be coded into such an old set anymore. Still, it would be ideal, as a way to give the set the added damage boost it so desperately needs.

Trip Mine - Not universally useful, but far from unworkable. While I would LIKE to see this get a faster cast time, it's fine as is.

Time Bomb - Here it is. The stinking pile of dog droppings that has plagued this set since its creation. The fact that it got ported over to Traps AS IS makes me wonder sometimes if the designers really know how awful this power is. This power needs a complete overhaul - as complete a one as was done to Electric Armor's Conserve Power, when it was changed into Energize. What I would like to see is another proximity bomb, but one that sets down a large burn patch instead of a traditional explosion. This would work on two levels for Devices - first, it would be far more useful than the current Time Bomb. Second, it would make Web Grenade have an actual reason to be in the set - to trap a hard target in the burn patch. The only problem I see with this... is that if it got ported to Traps, it would likely make that set overpowered...

Gun Drone - I boggle at this power. What does this pet do that justifies it huge endurance cost and its lengthy, interruptable, cast time? As near as I can tell... the ability to screw up a trap for you by attacking the enemies before they hit the mine field? It doesn't last long enough or do enough damage to warrant the cost or cast time. And, being interruptable, it can be very hard to call it out in the middle of a battle, which is when it would be useful. The Drone needs to be brought into line with other pets... no more than 20-26 points on endurance to cast, reduce the cast time to between 3 and 3.5 seconds, and chuck the interrupt time. Then summoning this as a mini-Tank in battle would be a much more viable option.

These are just my opinions, of course...

Just like it says on the tin... what defense sets work well with Stone Melee?

...keeping in mind that I never have, nor ever will, use /Stone Armor. So that one's right out.

So barring that, what Defense sets work well with Stone Melee?

Good evening.

This is probably not the best place to ask this, but I'm not sure which forum would be better...

I'm planning a lower-level AE arc (5-20 level range), one that would be at least theoretically possible in the game, so no custom enemy groups. The concept is shutting down an underground auction that sells kidnapped people to groups like the Vahzilok, the Circle of Thorns, and the Lost.

The problem is... I'm not sure who should be running this operation. There aren't a plethora of groups available in that range - I'm pretty much stuck with the Hellions, the Council, the Outcasts, the Family, and the 5th Column.

So... which of those groups do you think would be appropriate for running this auction, and why?

Thank you.

(ps - if this isn't an appropriate forum, where should I ask such a question?)

Yeah... not quite.

It seems I need to be at least on 'Recommended' graphics before I can actually notice the effect, even in dark areas. That said, it never really stands out in the costume generator, even after darkening the screen - which seems like a bad move to me.

Another thing (that probably has been mentioned before) why do we get two color choices for the Bioluminescent pieces if only the primary color matters? I wanted to have the stripes be yellow and the 'skin' tinted blue, yet only the primary made any difference. Is two colors really beyond the abilities of these costume pieces? And, if so, why even give a secondary color choice?

Okay... I'm confused...

What graphics setting do you need to be on to see the 'glow'? I'm not seeing any on any of the new costume pieces. I can fully accept that my default setting - performance - would drop this effect... but do you need to be in 'Ultra' to see it? If that's true, it's a bad move... I can't run Ultra graphics. (Well, to be more accurate, I can't run Ultra Graphics and still play the game without constant slow downs.)

At what level of graphics do the 'glow' effects start to show? Because so far, I'm not seeing them, and without the glow, the Bioluminescent pieces are underwhelming.

Hmm... looks like a good build, at least until the later 20s.

After that... well... to be honest, I'm making this character to use for the hero-to-villain side switching when GR comes out. So I can't exactly plan on having access to Physical Perfection...

I've looked at many builds for a Fire Melee/Shield Defense Scrapper recently... and I can say (rather universally) - How in the world would you level up with that build?

Of course, the answer is - you don't. Like many builds used in these boards, those are end-game builds, were you can fantasize about an unlimited budget and work out exactly what level 50 set IOs will get you the most bang for your buck.

I... don't want that.

I don't want the destination. I want the journey. I want to see how you got to the end game. Did you really go from 1 - 26 with only Scorch and Cremate as your single target attacks? (Okay, and brawl...) You certainly didn't go all that way with only one slot in Active Defense...

So... anyone have a good leveling build for Fire Melee/Shield Defense?

With issue 17, we have been inundated with new temporary power recipes, and they are dropping like crazy. Suddenly, those nice little bonuses you get through some story arcs, or in random side missions in Mayhem or Safeguard missions, are available for use by anyone with the inf. and the inclination.

...

So, that said, is anyone actually using these? I know that I've made some good use of both the Plasmatic Taser and the Hand Grenades when I need some extra AoE, but I'm curious if anyone else is bothering with these...

I'd comment, but I think you and I have different things we are looking for in a Huntsman. Based on you power choices... maybe you would prefer to use a Crab?

The only issue I have with Broad Sword is the brain-hurting realization that it uses the exact same animations as are seen in Battle Axe and War Mace. (excepting Parry, of course.)

I haven't been able to stand any of those sets since... -_-;

...

Yes, it's petty and foolish. I can't help it. Most of those animations just look more 'ponderous' than 'powerful' to me, and trying to wrap my mind around using the same motions for fighting with a sword, an axe, and a mace... yeah...

It's a personal peeve, but it is the reason why I can't stand an otherwise completely successful character anymore...

To be honest, the reason I'm going with the 'Huntsman' style build on my first Soldier is because THIS is what I wanted to see for Assault Rifle set. It simply feels better than the Frankengun of the Assault rifle set. (Which somehow is a combination of a machine gun, a shot gun, a sniper rifle, a grenade launcher, and a flame thrower.)

Throw in better survivability than a Blaster, and I was sold.

...last I checked, the game wasn't designed with a standard of "Can solo an AV" in mind.

I'm pretty sure a Bane, Crab, or even a Huntsman can take on an Elite Boss solo. It will be a tough battle, but a possible one. Taking on an AV? Get a team.

I've seen more VEATs, but not many VEAT teams.

Ah... my own new days to this game... I remember them...

(The pain... The torment... The absolute conviction that the Giant Monsters where out to get me...)

I remember the first time I hit level 6, and was told to go to King's Row. I had no clue that the rail lines existed, but I new that a 'Hazard Zone' was not a place I should go alone. So, looking at the map, I though... 'Hey, I just need to cut through Skyway City!'

...

Needless to say, I ended up deleting rather than try and figure out how to get from the hospital to the Kings Row exit without dieing again...

Another famous head-beater: Back when Task Forces gave recipe rolls, I got one of the holy grail drops: the Miracle +Recovery recipe. And, as I was playing a Katana/Regen scrapper, I had no need to slot it myself. It was like a holy light shining on my character, I was looking at no more Inf problems, ever. (A constant problem for me.)

But, I needed to sell off extraneous crud first, so headed to the nearest store to offload... and ended up clicking to button at the wrong time, and sold the Miracle +Recovery.

I then proceeded to quit so I could beat my head against a wall for a while.

Good day.

I've recently started a Soldier of Arachnos - a Wolf - and am loving the experience so far.

I've plans for using a 'Huntsman' build for her primarily, but it seems a shame to have a mace and never use it...

So - I'm actually planning for a second build, crafting a more traditional Bane Spider. But I don't want to go all-melee on the alternate build. So I'd like to see an example of a Bane Build that is rather balanced between ranged and melee, rather than excelling at one to the expense of the other...

Thank you.