Possibility

I was following this Flash Arrow tohit debuff discussion in its thread, and hadn't realized it was so low. I put in my $0.02 and wondered into the ether if it wouldn't be a good candidate for scaling effectiveness with level increase. I've not seen the responses to that suggestion yet, as I wasn't around a computer this past weekend.

That said, I do actually notice a difference when using it, especially in conjunction with the other powers of the set, but even by itself. So you're hardly bursting a bubble at least as far as I'm concerned. Whether or not it could be made better without unbalancing gameplay is another story.

There is something of an argument, for example, to be made within the context of the power being competitive at higher levels, which is why I suggested the scaling.

Here's a link to some discussion on this power.

Laughing Last: Trick Arrow Defense 101 [I6]

Natsuki, thank you very much for your corrections. I was indeed under a misapprehension that the defense set got the accuracy bonus as well as the archery set. I will update the guide with this information.

As for the recharge, I had wondered if glue and ice didn't have that effect, but I wasn't positive. I'll update the guide with this information. Thank you again for your corrections.

Added: in the next version, I mean . My time limit has expired for editing the original, so I'll release another version after this one matures a bit with additional information and/or errata.

Intro: Yes! Trick Arrow Defense Is For Me!
Hello, City of Heroes player, and thanks for reading. You're either morbidly curious as to why anyone would bother to write up a guide to one of the least-popular defender sets; or you're one of the few, the proud, the adventuresome, the slightly-masochistic-yet-clever individuals who've said, "Yes! Trick Arrow defense is for me!" -- probably followed by a "What the heck have I gotten myself into?"

Indeed, I'm here to tell the former-type readers that a Trick Arrow defender is the most varied enemy debuff set of all defender sets, its powers specializing in nothing but debuffs , and darned effective ones too, and it can rival Empathy and Kinetics in terms of cutting out downtime and increasing experience-gathering forays in to Paragon's criminal underbelly.

To the latter reader, I say, Welcome! Welcome to a life of even deeper underappreciation, scorn, puzzlement, and Explaining Things than a defender's lot already encompasses.

But don't despair, Trickster. I'm here to tell you: you're going to love it.

This guide won't focus too strongly on power mechanics and description rehashes (the other Trick Arrow guides do that admirably), but rather how they interact, how to strategize, a little commiseration, as well as some possible (obvious) attack chains. Some attention will be paid to secondary pools (medicine, concealment, super speed, etc), though less to secondary powers (the blaster goodness we get). Full disclosure: I have a level 36 (and rising) Trick Arrow defender that I started just to see if it could be done and done well and enjoyably. I have other defenders of various levels of every defense set available but one (Sonic, which is coming up next). I love the archetype as a whole, and I feel that each set brings something unique and valuable to a City of Heroes team. I play almost strictly support-oriented, rarely solo, never pvp, and always take every primary power. I never respec them out, because I have as yet failed to not find some use for all of them.

With that said, let's begin.

Part I: What The Heck Have I Gotten Myself Into?
It's a fair question. As a young Trickster, you're going to be, even more than most other sets, the odd one out. It's not surprising, if a little disappointing, that at the early levels, unless you're teaming with seasoned players, everyone loves an Empathy healer. Failing that, any set that can heal will do in a pinch, such as Radiation, Dark Miasma, and even Kinetics. You will be ceaselessly needled by others who see your little blue shield as a big Red Cross, and when you hopefully and patiently explain that, no, actually you don't heal but you can "do these other really cool things and . . . Hello?"

It's a tough world, kid. Force Fielders, Sonics, you know what I'm talking about, right? But rather than jealousy poison you towards your comrades-in-defense, the Empathy healers, you must learn something very important: you are two sides of the same coin. You are naturally "best friends forever."

Consider: Empathy healers have no power that affects enemies, only teammates
Consider: Trick Arrow defense has no power that affects teammates, only enemies

Consider that a team with both an Empathy and a Trick Arrow defender has everything a team needs, and then some, to become an effective, minimal-downtime leveling machine: powers that help the party and powers that hurt the enemy. As players experience the game and begin to see what else other defenders can bring to a party, you will be first regarded as a curiosity, then as an asset, and finally as that zesty jalapeño addition to a team’s salsa-tastic skills. ¡Caliente y sabroso!

But . . . those early levels.

I wish I could say something that would make it all better, but I can't. It will be tough finding teams sometimes. The Hollows will be a nightmare. You may have to voluntarily leave a team that "needs a healer" if you're occupying the last slot. But don't let this deter you. Chances are, a smart group (and one you want to be a member of, naturally) will have a couple of defenders. Make friends with them. Make friends, even, with an Empathy defender, so that the two of you are landing on the same teams frequently, someone you can call up to watch your back, and you theirs. We all have to stick together, right? And that's the quintessential defender credo.

Part II: What Does A Trick Arrow Defender Do, Anyway?
In brief, a Trick Arrow defender has powers that will

* Reduce enemy accuracy
* Reduce enemy perception (to nearly stealth-level quality)
* Reduce enemy movement (including immobilizes, holds, knockdowns, slows, and disorients)
* Reduce enemy defense rating
* Reduce enemy damage resistance
* Reduce enemy damage output
* Reduce enemy endurance recovery

That's . . . pretty much everything bad you could possibly want to happen to an opponent. The only thing I can think of offhand that's missing is slowing their health and power recharges (like the Kinetics and Psi blast sets can do). This set, with its minor-but-still-useful built-in +ACC, stacks with itself better than any other set I can think of, and it's all designed to reduce the bad guys to clumsy, ineffective whiffers.

Consider, too, that a Trick Arrow defender has no fewer than three powers which are area-of-effect that automatically hit whoever falls into their effect: glue, gas, disruption. That's a slow, a damage reducer, and a resistance debuff that are all auto-hit.

Scrappers will appreciate you. You can even effectively duo with a scrapper owing to the very controller-y nature of the set. Entangling arrow is fast with fast recharge, and it will keep runners from getting very far, forcing them to stay in place while the scrapper deals with other mobs. Those baddies (especially Freak Juicers or Cabal) that fly will also be brought down to earth and within reach thanks to entanglement.

Tanks will love you, and you will love them. Both of you love grouped, herded bad guys. If you look at the powers available to the Trick Arrow defender, the most devastating ones are area of effect powers that are meant to impede dense groups. Does the tank have their attention? Good, now fire a glue arrow and make 'em sticky. Then a poison gas arrow to make a few mobs choke and all of them reduce the damage they try to do. Then, right beneath the feet of the tank, fire that disruption arrow and whittle away their damage resistance. Finally, pick out that boss surrounded by minions and hit him with an acid arrow, splashing he and his nearby lackeys with defense-eating doom. By doing all this to the enemy, even lower-damage archetypes will be dishing out buff-worthy damage.

Blasters will come to respect you. The tank missing some of the herd? A mob of bad guys running toward the squishy line? Say hello to my little friend, the Oil Slick. Lay it down in the middle of that suddenly-approaching group and see who can set it on fire first. Yes, you heard me: it catches fire . Energy, Electricity, Archery and Fire blaster sets have the capacity to set it on fire, as does the Fire controller set. Stack all of the aforementioned debuffs on the enemies and watch those little ticks of damage stream away. Before you know it, game over, move on.

Controllers will warm to you. That magnitude 2 boss shrugging off the first hold? Launch an ice arrow at him, no waiting. Put in enough recharges (and possibly a hasten) and chain hold him. Mobs shrugging off holds too quickly? EMP arrow and not only disorient, but also drain away a chunk of their endurance and halt its recharge for a short time.

And, of course, as has already been mentioned, other defenders will appreciate your own unique flavor and the fact that you can complement nearly every one. Flash & Darkest Night. Glue & Lingering Radiation. Oil Slick & Snow Storm. Poison Gas & Siphon Power. You are the monosodium glutamate of the defender world, the ultimate flavor-enhancer. The only set I can think of that you'd not be directly complementing is, as has been stated, Empathy, but the way you interact in terms of team dynamics is pure chocolate and peanut butter.

Part III: Tacti-licious
So, you've convinced that team that they need you. Or, your Empathy pal and you have landed on a team. You gracefully ignore the fact that some idjit says, "All right! A healer!" It's okay, bite back the bile. We'll show 'em.

You should absolutely explain what you do best with the set, first off, to the team, as really any good player does. Tell them that you specialize in area of effect debuffs. If you've a tank on the team doing herding, you're half way there in terms of adjusting the group’s tactics.

If you have any Mind controllers in your group, or anyone who can use non-aggroing powers, you will be working with them at the outset prior to the party's alpha strike. You have one trick to play there, but play it: Flash arrow does not aggro, but it does reduce the enemy to-hit for 60 seconds as well as their perception. The former is easiest to see in action: you're not getting hit. The latter will take some experimentation on your part. Flashed mobs really won't be able to see you unless you are right in their face. Alas, the range isn't as good (or better) than Nemesis snipers, but you've a while before you encounter them, young Trickster. In the meantime, you can use it to open, before the actual attack. Always let people know what you're doing, however. Itchy trigger fingers may not realize that that loud flash-and-boom isn't going to start them incoming and decide to open the attack. When I use it, I always tell the team (and you may even want to create a bind): "Flashing, this doesn't aggro." Beep-beep-beep…BOOM!

From the opening alpha, you want to be able to focus on where the bulk of the mobs are clumped. As has been mentioned, this is where you'll unleash your most effective debuffs. Nonetheless, you'll want to keep half an eye on anything that's breaking free from holds or doing a runner. You can hold them down with ice arrow, or immobilize them with entangling arrow. See that bad guy breaking off and heading towards a squishy? Stop him in his tracks and give everyone a breather. Got a Kinetics defender in the party? Let a mob get just close enough to the back line and freeze him, and voila! Instant Kinetics battery!

After the alpha has gone off, the next thing you'll probably want is the glue arrow. The tank (or controller, or circumstance) has happily clumped them all together, so the last thing you want is for them to scatter. Glue will slow them right down. Rain effects from blasters, defenders, or controllers should generally wait until this (or any immobilization, hold, or slow power) goes off, as it maximizes the time the mobs spend under rain effects.

For most of your early career, especially before Oil Slick, you'll be doing what my good friend calls "the ol' flash-n-glue" (thank you, a theory on Champion!). Even if you're without a tank, this can be an effective technique. Flash will reduce their ability to hit you, and glue will keep them out of the higher-damage-doing melee range. The melee fighters should be able to approach relatively unseen because of the flash you laid down (careful, though, because flash can miss a few individual mobs). If you're without a tank, it's best to let any scrappers begin their approach to engage the mobs, have blasters and ranged fighters do their thing when the scrapper makes contact, and fire off the glue at that point. The purpose of a tank is to take that aggro, but in the absence of such a person, mitigating and spreading aggro around will help. There’s a reasonable chance that blinded enemies won’t even notice anything until the fight is on their own doorstep. I have seen half a spawn fail to react when a melee fighter entered the melee range of the other half; they just didn’t see him.

The next measure you can take is the poison gas arrow. You’ve got them slowed and clumped and they’re focusing on your close-ranged fighters. Not only does the poison gas arrow have a small chance to hold a mob outright as they choke on the fumes, but see that lovely purple haze around them? Their damage output has been reduced. So at this point, not only are they blind and slowed, but now if they do manage to hit you, they're not doing as much damage as they otherwise would. Make sure others understand this concept: keep 'em in the gas. This will keep the tank holding the agro and may even let a scrapper stand up to the punishment longer than they normally would.

As you increase in levels and unlock the ice and acid arrow, you can continue your work by freezing mobs in place (i.e. stopping them from attacking), preventing them from running or leaving your AoEs, and then using the acid arrow to make them more susceptible not merely to damage, but to other effects as well. Keep them pinned and debuffed, freezing or entangling any that threaten to get too close to the squishy line.

The next good power you'll get is the disruption arrow. Use this when you need to clean up quickly. Freakshow tanks just love it when you use this on them. It has a good duration and a decent recharge, though I recommend improving the recharge to get it out more frequently. This plus the acid arrow will actually boost damage done to the enemies by around 40%. This was suggested to be the case in the other excellent Trick Arrow guides, and I was able to confirm it on a lucky day where my damage was at a base of 10 with snap shot. After these two tricks, it was at 14. Easy math, great effect!

Much like other powers at that level, when you hit oil slick, it's a whole new game and unquestionably a centerpiece to the set. Oil slick is much like the icy patch that Ice controllers can lay down, causing mobs to stumblebum around and slowing their progress. As has been gleefully mentioned, you can then light it on fire. It doesn't always hit, and it doesn't always happen -- I'm not certain, but it seems like if a preponderance of high-level mobs are in it, it doesn't catch fire as readily. In any case, when it does happen, break out the marshmallows, it's time for roasted bad guy! They're slipping, falling, crawling, and burning, softening them up while the damage-dealers cull the herd.

Tactically, you'll have to know when to use it and when not to. Large groups of clumped mobs, even-con or maybe a smidge higher? Instead of flash-n-glue, flash-n-slick! It's especially useful for occupying large groups of minions and a few lieutenants. Minions near to your level can have nearly half their life burned away. Enhance it for damage, pile on the debuffs, and you can do even more. That group of Rikti mentalist, soldier, and three dozen monkeys? Perfect for the slick. You'll probably kill all the monkeys right off, if you pair it with disruption/acid arrows. The bigger baddies will still be standing, but they will be well softened for cleanup jobs. In between the slick recharges, go back to the flash-n-glue. You'll never be without something to do.

Finally, the EMP arrow, and it’s even more situational. If you take an Aim power from your blaster set that offers it (and you should), you can actually use this power as an alpha strike. Since whoever it hits will be disoriented for a surprisingly good while, you won't get much in the way of aggro save from those mobs that you may have missed. Unlike some other alphas, it won't disperse the enemies. So you could, in theory, EMP the mob into disorientation and allow the blaster to be able to go in and Nova without drawing more aggro than they can handle. It's also a decent Panic Button, in case a tanker or key blaster/scrapper is about to fall and needs a heal from either a teammate or an inspiration.

A note about knockback : If anyone uses knockback (in particular: Energy blasting), make a little note to yourself. Things are going to be a bit more complicated there, because they may be knocking mobs out of your effects. Now, I love knockback; yes, it can mess things up, but it can also be used to strategically throw mobs back into your AoE or near to the tanks. A good player who can work with knockback will keep your naughty, evil shrimp on the oil-slick barbie.

When possible, try and position things so that there is some wall or retaining device against which mobs will be knocked back. In that area between the wall, the tank, and the rest of the group is your golden zone and where you will want to focus your AoE debuffs.

Sometimes, a player just won't get it, and you're using ice or entangle more than your awesome debuffs. There is nothing more disappointing than setting a slick on fire, toasting up a dozen mobs, and having an Energy blaster AoE them and scatter them far out of the flames. It happens. You'll have to time the AoE's better and pay particular attention to what that player is about to do. Worst-case scenario is that you've explained things but they just don't care, and so you save your AoE's for another time. Finish the mission and bow out gracefully. You're no good to them there.

Part IV: Secondary Power Pools
I do not, actually, have all that much experience with all pools. I've seen them all in action, but personal experience is somewhat lacking. However, I will name two pools that you will actually want and a third pool which would be nice to have for some, critical for others. Other pools you have a positive experience with, that you just can't live without, by all means take them.

Medicine . Let me be honest here: I caved. Utterly, completely. It got to be too much when people asked me if I could heal, and I constantly had to say no, so I took the pool. To my continued delight, I think the pool is an asset to non-healing defense sets. You will (and should) slot it with enhancements. I currently use three for the self heal and the heal other: two healing SOs and one interrupt reduction SO. The result is that I can often pop a heal on a teammate in melee. See again: flash arrow, where flashed enemies won’t see you unless you attack them directly. The self heal is also, actually, a superior heal that grants a bit of mez/stun protection. It's not hugely effective in terms of prevention, but it's not bad either. Stimulant seems like it should do more, but generally, most things you can cure with stimulant you can cure with a heal, at least in early levels. And of course, you can resuscitate a fallen comrade! This is a big bonus if your party's main resurrector is down. Who will heal the healer? Why, you can! It's not ideal in combat, since the ally raised is without endurance. However, with a Kineticist on the team (or even a Kineticist that has the pool), this is less important, because speed boosts and transferences can replenish the supply very quickly (SB) or instantly (TFE). Otherwise, donate some blue Catch a Breaths for a good cause. Take the pool.

Super Speed . You don't have to take the whole pool. In fact, I only took hasten and super speed and won't take anything else. Both are well suited to a Trick Arrow defender. Hasten has its obvious and well-regarded effect of speeding up your recharge. A few of your powers have slow recharge times, and this will save you from having to put too many Recharge enhancements into it. Of course, itself it needs such enhancements, and you'll want three (or more, though with enhancement diversification, diminishing returns after that for expensive enhancements). Since I wanted a travel power anyway, and I'd already taken hasten, I went ahead and took super speed. I love it just fine. Since you will be a completely ranged player, it's deeply useful for getting in and out of range quickly. The combat heals I mentioned you popping on an ally? Use SS to get in and out quickly. It can be a bit tricky because of the Medicine pool interrupt times, but it’s by no means impossible.

The above two are my recommendations. If you plan to solo more with a Trick Arrow defender, or you simply balance more toward "offender" play style and like your attacks a lot, taking Fitness is for you. I don't think I have anything currently slotted with endurance reduction in my primary power set, and my secondary is stacked for pure damage (despite the +ACC they have, I still usually put in maybe one additional accuracy enhancement -- I like to hit), so when I'm not in a team and getting my endurance discount (inherent defender power that is, actually, quite noticeable), I eat through my endurance in no time flat. I do not, as I disclosed, have a solo build. I can't see a player wanting to solo as a Trick Arrow offender without taking Stamina. If you want to unleash the full barrage of debuffs available to you and still be able to attack, you're going to need it.

Of the remaining pools, use your discretion. Recall Friend might be useful, since you'll be zipping (or leaping, or ‘porting, or whatever is your cup of tea) everywhere quickly; plus if you didn't fall in battle -- you shouldn't, either, because you are a ranged set and should avoid melee like the plague -- but other members of the team faceplanted, you can pull them out and resuscitate them (if you took Medicine) or let them awaken safely. Leadership also seems useful for it's bonuses. You'd be helping the back line more than the front, but I could see a case for it. If you prefer Leaping or like the combat jumping and acrobatics to improve your defense, by all means, take it.

Since I've not yet reached the Epic Power Pool levels yet, I will refrain from comment. At such time as I have experience with them, I'll update this guide.

Part V: Final Notes
Five simple words to live by, as a Trickster: You. Are. A. Debuff. Machine.

While the early years may be tough on you, stick with it. The byproduct of the set is that you will tend to be more appreciated by more experienced players, and aren't those the kind you'd rather defend for? Otherwise, my friend, you will be a missionary to the n00b masses who look at you and see a band-aid, opening their eyes to what it means to be a defender. Such work is not for everyone, it's true. It may even be an eye opening experience for you as well. It certainly was for me, but I've found it to be one of the most enjoyable sets in the game. It's a challenge with a learning curve and possibly not for the inexperienced or new player. In fact, much like those who will appreciate you, your own experience with the game and the mechanics of debuffs and buffs will be an asset in maximizing what this little baby can do.

Go out there and Trick 'em.

I was a HUGE fan of your first version guide, such that I would frequently re-read it. But your latest version -- superb! So much information, but you organized it really well. So thanks -- a lot!

A Mind/Emp was my first ever character (no one told me I was probably crazy, so...), and he continues to be a favorite, effective toon of mine to play. Your guide (and the TK guide) helped me a lot. Couple of thoughts:

1) My build uses neither Hasten nor Stamina. Now that I have RA, Fitness is less important (and I won't be able to commit the powers in any case), but I may yet take Hasten to get some of those AoE holds to come back faster. I only experience End drain when I'm healing a lot, which if I'm controlling effectively, I shouldn't be doing.

2) I personally prefer Heal Other to Absorb Pain. I realize I shouldn't be taking much damage, but, well, it happens. And as the squishiest of the squishies, voluntarily lowering my health and then blocking my ability to be healed for a short time doesn't sit well with my sense of self preservation. But you make a more than adequate case in favor of AP. In fact, one thing to point out is that if you have Regeneration Aura running, you will, actually, heal after an Absorb Pain. No, targeted and area heals will still not work on you, but you do actually tick back some health if RegA was up and running when you Absorbed. (This was true a while ago, don't know if this has changed since I6)

3) I have a Trick Arrow defender (again, see above about being a crazy person), and in some ways, the controls offered by that set are the perfect complement to Mind. Mind doesn't have a slow, immobilize, or disorient, but TA does (Entangle, Glue, and EMP Arrows). On top of that, you also get an AoE knockdown with Oil Slick Arrow. The only sad part is you'll be forced to rely on someone else to set it on fire if you want the (deeply sadistically satisfying) damage-dealing bonus it can provide when it catches fire and starts bar-b-qing the bad guys.

Another thing to consider for TA is that, where Empathy is only composed of team buffs, TA is exclusively enemy debuffs. So if that's your thing more, you could go in that direction. It's also one of the most comprehensive debuffing sets available, since you can debuff nearly everything about a mob possible: defense, resistance, perception, to hit, movement, damage output.

Also, the many AoE powers of the set are not currently constrained by a limit: any number of mobs walking into a glue, oil slick, gas cloud, or disruption field may be affected (some are auto-hit like disruption and gas, although others are not, like oil).

On the con side, as a control set, Mind is superior, and some of the effects of TA would be redundant, at least in effect. If you've hypnotized a group, they're not doing any damage to debuff, right? There is only one hard hold (Ice Arrow) that you could use to stack magnitudes with other holds. Otherwise, while the set would round out the kinds of controls available, it would not work as well to fortify what you already had, as a mind controller.

Anyway, thanks once again for your continued dedication to this guide!

[ QUOTE ]
it has been said that if you deceive a mob,say a herder,before it drops its emulator, then the emulator is under your control...havent had the chance to confirm this,but wanted to put that out there

[/ QUOTE ]

This is actually correct, and one of my favorite effects.

Although eminators don't seem to do anything beneficial to the group, force field generators dropped by Sky Raiders certainly do. I discovered this and used it many times upon hitting Striga Isle and encountering them so often. Confuse the generator, and suddenly your whole party is bubbled, and not the enemies.

It won't follow you, but if you have TP foe, you can TP it around with you as long as you like. Just keep layering confuses on it, and it's your own personal bubbling automaton.

I understand that Malta Auto-Turrets are likewise able to be confused in this manner.

Caltrops used to work this way too, although it's been a while since I've been stuck in them, so I don't know if this has been changed. The Tsoo like to drop them on you, but if you can find the Tsoo who did, used to be that you could confuse him and be unaffected by the caltrops. However, any Tsoo, including the one who threw them, will be slowed down and take damage from them.

I think I'm getting some guide versions mixed up here. There's another thread with this guide and author, but separate comments and additional expressed preferences, which this version is -- suddenly? -- missing. My comment above was posted to a guide that expressed some preferences for the powers. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. It's entirely possible that I slipped into a parallel dimension briefly and mis-posted.

Mistformssquirrel, my point was based on an apparent preference for the gas arrow over the flash arrow (which, again, seems to have been in That Other Universe). My feeling was that getting hit for less damage was less preferable to not getting hit *at all*. Both are great mitigators, indeed, especially used in conjunction. Less hitting, and when they do, less damage. Sign me up!

Your point about the acid arrow, though, is appreciated. I didn't mean to make an oversight about acid arrow's dual role. I admit I forget about that aspect when I see mostly the purple shieldy things animation on afflicted mobs. I believe the Disruption Arrow is the superior -res debuff. I might not be remembering correctly, but the acid arrow was somewhere in the 10% increased damage range and disruption arrow 30%. I'm not a number monkey, so I can't say for sure. Back when my snapshot was doing an even 10 points of damage, I think that's what it worked out to be when I applied one and then the other. But again, the powers synergize so well with each other -- all of the TA powers do -- that skipping any to me seems like missing out, which was my overall point.

P.S. I hope I didn't leave my house keys in that other dimension.

Another good guide -- and only 1 of 2 for Trick Arrow!

Couple of "false dichotomies" you bring up that I want to address, though. Disclaimer: I play strongly defensively and take few blasting powers with this set and focus on taking all primaries in general when I play a defender. For those wanting more diversification, these "take this vs take that" questions are more important.

Flash Arrow vs Poison Gas Arrow : Flash arrows aren't damage mitigaters, but a toHit debuff. Rather than hitting for less damage, mobs are hitting less period. It has other advantages over PGA:
1) It doesn't invite aggro, so you can fire it off without the mobs attacking. It's loud and bright and startling, so you'll want to warn your teammates that it doesn't actually aggro, as I've had trigger happy pals rush into battle thinking it began.
2) The mobs affected will remain blinded for 60 seconds after a successful hit without the need to stay in an AoE. Wherever they wander, they will still be under its effects, whereas if they rush out of the gas cloud, their damage is no longer reduced.
3) Perception debuff. It's nearly as good as stealth, and enemies will rarely notice you if you take no hostile action. Healing teammates and even rezzing them can be done without being noticed (I have the Medicine pool, so this is something I do).

Ice Arrow vs Entangle Arrow: Ice Arrow is a full hold, whereas Entangle is an immobilization. Entangled enemies can (and do) still attack you with ranged weapons if they have them, and even melee if you're close to them. Should a runner manage to get through your front line and into the squishy zone and in your face, you're going to want them frozen and held, not immobilized, especially if retreat isn't a viable option. Kinetics or Dark Defenders playing with you can also use that troll-cicle you just froze into a battery for their drain-heals. Yes, it's slower, although with Hasten and recharges slotted, you can actually perma-hold a mob. With multiple applications of the defense-eating Acid Arrow, even bosses become vulnerable to freezes, and lieutenants become unwilling frozen art easily.

Acid Arrow vs Disruption Arrow: Others have already mentioned this, so I won't elaborate other than to say Acid Arrow + Disruption Arrow = 40% more damage done to mobs. The former eats defense, the latter damage resistance (which is a subset of defense). With reasonable recharge time with appropriate slotting and very good duration, this arrow will quickly become a favorite. More damage-dealing for everybody! Oh, and the Sleep Duration slots I *think* are for those who react badly to the gas, increasing their debilitaion, but I'm not sure.

EMP Arrow: Just got this, so still seeing what it can do. The Special vs Robots seems to mean that the robots take actual damage from this arrow, in addition to stun and endurance drain. Still confirming this.

The Trick Arrow set seems to benefit more than any other defender set by stacking. Each of the debuffs affects a different aspect of a mob's defenses. Acid and Disruption mean you're doing more damage, Flash and Gas mean they're doing less. Glue and Oil mean they're going nowhere fast, and Ice and Entangle mean you've got physical control over where individual mobs are caught up.

Having taken all powers in this primary, I can't say that I'd trade any of them. When used in conjunction with each other the net effect on the overall battle is phenomenal; a kinetics defender friend calls it "the ol' flash-n-glue." Start with aggro-free flash to debuff their tohit, glue to debuff their movement, gas to debuff their damage, acid arrow to debuff defense, and then disruption to debuff their damage resistance and allow the party to chew up and spit out this mass of grouped, sticky, slowed, blinded, poisoned, vulnerable baddies.

And in your late 20's? You get to burn them to a crisp and laugh as they fall repeatedly on their behinds.

It's good to be a Trick Arrow defender.

Good guide, thanks! My $0.02...

As a pure defender who takes all primary powers and tried a Trick Arrow defender "to see if it could be done," this is a fantastic set for increasing damage output by your group (via enemy debuffs, rather than ally buffs, as with Kinetics), and is at the same time the most controller-y of all the defenses.

I have to recommend Flash arrow merely because of the noticeable toHit debuff is enforces on enemies (currently double-slotted for this, though I might do more if it makes a difference), but the -Perception seems to be nearly as good as Stealth. I have walked right up to even-con (and higher) mobs after a flash arrow and have them totally ignore me. Since I have the Medicine pool (I caved to the constant, "Oh, you're not a healer, um, kthxbai"), I can walk up to melee comrades and heal without being noticed, and even rez without interruption.

Until I got oil slick (whose praises I will sing with you), most of my early tactics consisted of Flash, Glue, Poison Gas, all of which are fast executes. If you're careful and mobs are grouped, find that center one as fast as you can and Acid Arrow them for maximum splatter. By this time, the mobs are mostly missing my group, and hitting for less damage if they don't miss. Shoot the wonderful Disruption arrow (walls, ground, anywhere works), and watch your group decimate the mobs. Entangle or Freeze any strays if need be. This was mostly my plan from teens to late twenties, when I got the Oil Slick arrow.

It's still the main plan if we're moving rapidly until I get the Slick to come up more quickly. There are few things more satisfying that springing that on a group and setting it alight. Add injury to insult, and get that Disruption Arrow in there too and watch those little numbers of damage increase. Get a good acid splatter, watch them increase further. Takes a surprisingly large chunk out of trapped mobs while your damage dealers clean up quickly.

Biggest challenge with some of these tools is timing, especially if you're playing with knockback-heavy blasters. That great oil slick you've laid down that's burning nicely is useless if that Energy AoE blast, ice rain, fire rain, or storm scatters baddies to the winds. Either get the plan down ahead of time with your team, or adjust your timing to compensate. Quick acid arrows before targets are ungrouped helps. Locking mobs down with entangle or ice in a group can also work, if you're quick (Hasten is a boon to this set in particular). Otherwise, save those AoEs of yours for when you can use them and help focus on single targets like Bosses and AV's. Acid arrows, flash arrows, and ice arrows will have a noticeable effect, as will the disruption arrows; see if they don't, when you're helping take down a Freakshow Tank Swiper.

In parties where Tanks are herding and any knockback happening is pushing enemies back into the group rather than out of, you are gold. I've also duo-ed spectacularly with good Scrappers. The combination lockdowns and immobilizations you can do coupled with the debuffs = one happy Scrapper as you keep them from being overrun and making every punch/kick/slice the Scrapper dishes out count 40% more (yes, that number I did check, combo Acid Arrow and Disruption meant my previous 10 point snapshot was doing 14 instead -- handy decimals). No, you've no healing, but damage? What damage is she taking, exactly?

Again, thanks for your breakdown and insight.

I was a big fan of your previous version's guide, and this new version is just as magnificent. Thank you!

One piece of advice that I didn't see in the new version (might be I was reading too fast) was regarding MC/Emps that are healing more than they are controlling, that this was to be Frowned Upon, and I still think it's good advice for all sorts of reasons.

I find Empathy to be the worse end hog of the two. In fact, when I'm doing pure control with a group that's either got an Emp defender or we're simply not taking much damage, endurance has never been a problem. But if I have to whip out a few heals, see the blue bar plummet. That said, I have taken neither Hasten nor Stamina, so perhaps that's the edge that reduces this difficulty. I did take Recovery Aura as soon as possible, however, and am in the process of slotting that for recharge because it allows more heals -- more everything, really -- on the fly.

But the more significant reason is that Empathy is, well, secondary. It's a fantastic buffer to Emp defenders (and other Healing-enabled defenders) who are stretched thin; Healing Other on an Empathy defender who's been Absorbing Pain left and right (when they can take the heals again, of course) can keep that Healer in business longer, and it's nice to return the favor. Plus, in protracted fights, when the Empathy defender's Recovery Aura wears off, if you've got yours ready to go, your whole group is back in business again. And Clear Minds can be running perma if you work together.

But your business should be more about locking down the mobs and keeping them from damaging your group in the first place. Mobs that are sleeping or dominated or confused are doing zero damage to your group, after all.

Anyway, once again, thanks for the fantastic guide. I re-read it often. I can't tell you how much this (along with Hedon's TK guide) has helped my MC/Emp toon (my first ever toon, actually, in CoH, and still a fave).