Psylenz
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Posts
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Quote:Wow, I took a step back to decide how to replyOriginally Posted by Celidya
Dark Miasma is about average i think. I think i don't have the same standard as all the posters above shouting how great both sets are, really. DM offers some useful things but when it comes to keep the team alive i think it's barely average.
Note that i'm not talking about the random PUG in a radio mission or whatever, but when the stuff really gets hard. Usually that means:
-one or multiples AVs, and against them the debuffs aren't worth much. The most useful debuff is -regen, i would much prefer to have some buffs against an AV than all the DM debuffs together
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Storm ? All it brings is offense. ...
And even the damage it brings is average, again, by the time the Stormie is done summoning all the pets and all the stuff, things will be dead.
,,,
Storm ? They're the last thing i want when i need support. And i leveled some of them, i just can never justify myself to play my storm characters instead of about anything else because they're good only to bring chaos when things are so bad there's nothing else to do. And the whole point of bringing a def or even a controller is to avoid that at first.
I am sorry you haven't had the experience with either a dark miasma or storm summoning team mate user that effectively demonstrated the awesome force multiplying effect of their powers' benefits. It takes imagination, experience to fully utilize dark miasma and storm summoning to enjoy the effectiveness which I rate right up with empath, forcefields, sonic, cold domination, thermal, pain, kinetic, trick arrow - all their defender/controller/mastermind/corruptor fruitsalad brethren. -
Good choice. I don't think you are an idiot at all, Neg_rogue.
When you do get your hurricane, I have a suggestion. Go to Boomtown, it's a great hazard zone with large sized groups and fun topography to push them around with. Another suggestion is the hurricane pull. Run through a couple groups like you lost your mind, then retreat around a blind wall or corner. They will bunch up against the hurricane where you wait for them, dropping freezing rain and snowstorm on the crowd. On a team its best to let them know where you are pulling to.
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They fixed the ticks in Freezing Rain a long time ago when Stormies were slaying the Hamidon from maximum altitude dropping an ever-increasing damage from freezing rain on the poor Jello guy. Now the proc has a chance to fire on first hit and on a timer after that, I think 5 seconds or so.
Myself I don't feel comfortable unless there is ~65% recharge reduction in Freezing Rain. If there were ever a power to maximum slot, it's this baby. Hurricane, Tornado and Lightning Storm are flashy, but Freezing Rain is the real star.
Just for emphasis: Foe -speed, -recharge, -defense, -resistance
They can't run, their ability to attack is reduced BEFORE acc checks, they are easier to hit, and they are more squishy when you hit them. Unmentioned in this, they fall down and cannot return fire until they get up. Knock down is mitigation. Is there any reason you wouldn't want this available for every fight? -
Call me overzealous... I noticed some slotting irregularities in the early powers when I was scoping out where the OP could get slots for the nuke.
Tar Patch doesn't really use Pacing of the Turtle like Lingering Radiation would. Dark users with Tar Patch can't benefit from accuracy, damage or even range in Tar Patch.
Howling Twilight uses stun but the accuracy portion of the slots is wasted.
I suggest 2 generic recharges and a slow in Tar Patch or even just 3 generic recharge enhancements.
Howling Twilight I 3 slot for recharge. There is a nice benefit from 2 stupefies in a set, but I wouldn't use an accuracy component. Howling Twilight is AUTOHIT.
Shadowfall gets more mileage from resistance enhancments especially in the later game when resistance to psychic blast damage can be critical.
Your slotting of Zephyr Resist KB could be overkill, too.
Seriously, you have a very functional build, a success in the making.
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I have a dark/ice myself that I have been neglecting lately. It's a really fun set to play. Your setup has 5 holds in it. Two ice holds, petrifying gaze, the epic hold, and your Dark Servant has his own version of petrifying gaze. That's a lot of holds. Many would say overkill, but if that's your theme it certainly doesn't hurt your teams.
You have single slotted bitter ice blast. In a set with six slotted holds, things have to give. I would drop that power completely, push back fly to that positioni and pick up your targetted AoE nuke for maximum AoE carnage. It's a nuke equivalent in damage to the Ice blaster version. Take a fine tooth comb and find a few dmg/rech enhancements. Remember, your ice storm, tar patch, and blizzard can be cast from a position where the foes have no line of sight. It's a safe and potent combo.
Good luck! -
Quote:They did it once in the long long ago, and swore they would never do it again. Something about not being able to do instanced missions for an entire weekend.Originally Posted by RosaQuartz
I would be shocked. Typically new issue opening on Friday = bad.
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Quote:*dies a little inside*Originally Posted by Neg_rogue
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My brother still says I should just forget Hurricane and Tornado and take like, the leadership pool instead xD
Storm/dark, storm/rad, and storm/sonic all have single target stuns to stack with thunderclap. Ice on top of the other stormy goodness is about s-l-o-w-s. It's a real difference maker stacking ice blast slows on freezing rain and snowstorm.
On my storm defenders, I lock in hurricane at level 12. I am not one to say you have to use it all the time, but it's definitely a plus to have it available especially when the phit hits the shan.
Ice Storm and Blizzard are both blaster strength targetted AoE attacks. If a stormy stacks freezing rain before these two AoEs, there is precious little that ever escapes. Another highlight, the storm defender can cast all 3 powers from around a corner or from a platform above without direct line of sight. They never knew what hit them.
I like the electric mastery for power sink. It's an amazing tool for recovering from the nuke.
Mention was made of freeze ray stopping Malta sappers. It should be noted that O2 boost 'vaccinates' against endurance drain from Malta sappers, Mu adepts, and others. Freeze Ray is good against sky raider engineers that set up the Forcefields. Remember your snowstorm cast on a raider engineer will interrupt them as well as vahzilok embalmed self-destructors.
Finally in regard to tornado, it's not intuitive right away when to use this. I have seen it used as a pull, not the best pull. My favorite use is the chewy foes like Freak tanks or Crey tanks. The defender gales and hurricanes the nasty into a corner where he is trying to jump out or such. That's when tornado gets dropped. Tornado does not move on to the next foe if it is unable to knock back the current one. It will literally chew through these tanks like a buzzsaw tick after stunning tick, with defense debuff as well. The whole team can take the tank down easier. Tornado can be used as a golden parachute when you are overwhelmed. Pop Mr. Twisty out and run for safety.
Tornado isn't an out of the box power you are given like fireball, but far easier to use than telekinesis or even hurricane. In its place it's an awesome tool to have. -
Quote:Warshades start as something with such optimism, yet in many ways more vulnerable than a blaster or a defender. By the mid-20s, the growing pains are gone as a tri-form warshade is a juggernaut like no other in game. If there were not so many 'shineys' I am sureOriginally Posted by Westley
Next I'm thinking of giving Warshades a serious try... I got one up to level 35 before and loved it, but I think I'd rather start over again rather than pick up that one after so many months. my warshade would be level 50 by now.
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Quote:I endorse this recommendation. I do play my radiation defenders in a more kinetic/melee zone due to the way radiation debuff works. It is hugely flexible. On teams, just having the toggles running during a light-headed moment can still provide a ton of support. According to Mids if you fire off howl when available, it debuff resistance to foes by 20%. That's a good chunk for a secondary power, and that's VERY team friendly.Originally Posted by Quaver
I would highly recommend Radiation Emission/Sonic Attacks.
Great for teams, very soloable, less dependent on melee range than Kinetics, and can handle most content (also includes mez resistance for yourself). -
Quote:You can get someone to exemplar you for a single bank job in Kings Row. Dark is what dark does, they should be happy for the assist.Originally Posted by Imaheroe
ok, thanks for clearing all that up guys. I can stand to lose PG. Normally I run a Safeguard mission for the temp travel and it lasts me into the 30s. on this char, I got a little AE crazy and passed up my chance. I think I can do it in ourbours? maybe?
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Try a stormie to get all the attention you would ever need.
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I would take hasten.
Slot dark servant with dampened spirits until I had the accuracy and recharge bonuses. Everything the dark servant does is tohit debuff, and Chill of the Night is the most salient example.
Reminder: Howling Twilight isn't just for rezzing fallen teammates. -
Achilles' Heel procs and all are good. The most successful technique I have for challenging groups of foes is to: ask the tank to herd a nice bunch around a corner, OR toggle pull a nice group around a corner yourself. Enervating field is a quick activation you can put in place and duck around a corner. I use choking cloud, so the group can be affected before they get line of sight of my little rad/rad. Then after getting radiation infection in place ASAP, I unload everything, Lingering Radiation, Irradiate, cosmic burst a particular troublesome victim.
I put procs in choking cloud, too. You can literally manhandle good sized groups with this technique. When you have EM Pulse up, the holds stack and it's golden. After the greeting, pick away at the group, AoE the group; how long they last is a product of how many damage dealers you have. -
When on a Dark miasma character, and I summon the FLUFFY, I always think of White Snake's "Chill (Still) of the Night!"
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Quote:Twilight grasp does 50% regeneration debuff. Howling Twilight does 500% regeneration debuff for 30 seconds! And remember dark users, howling twilight requires NO defeated allies to activate it.Originally Posted by PettyTheftz
To the OP,
Out of the 5 level 50 MM's I have , I find Bots/dark to be the most Powerful after level 32. Not the most damaging MM I have, but the sheer survivability of the set is insane compared to other archtypes. Also don't underestimate the + Regen you, your fluffy and your Assault bot can dish out. I don't have the exact numbers, But I believe you and fluffy's heal will each do -50% regen, and one of the Assault bots attacks reduces it by 1000% when it hits. You can look around the forums and find a few videos of Bot/dak's soloing GM's.
I slotted my MM with sets that would boost def, took no travel power or hasten. off the top of my head, with Protector bots bubble I have 60% S/L def, 42% Range 39% melee/AoE def, and with all the -tohit you have at your disposal..... This was about a 200-225 mil build.
The only drawback is it can be very boring to play, even on test with 8 man spawns of Malta set to +2 my level /yawn. -
Export Titans forum option from Mids
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Quote:Can you just imagine the Bruiser with the orange hula hoop of doom??Originally Posted by Vel_Overload
..i wanted sonic.. sniff...
but.. i guess i could change the color of the fire. I really hate fire powersets, i don't know why, i just do.
guess i'll go flaming mercenaries or something.. in like 3 months when thermal isn't FotM
i still want Sonic please!!! -
Something else to consider in the protector bot healing AI is that the protobots will heal for which portion they are slotted up for heal with. If they are slotted to heal 100% of a battle drone's health, they will wait until the first tier bot is nearly dead before they will heal. If they are lightly slotted say 60% heal of an attack bot, they will tend to heal on a quicker schedule. I find the latter situation preferable as with too much heal slotting, your minions are more likely to die in heavy fighting due to the protector bot's priorities.
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I would include EM Pulse as a must have power. The hold stacks with choking cloud. It doesn't crash your end like a nuke does, but it does slow your recovery, which is why I picked up Conserve Power in the build I posted.
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I would want to paint stalkers on my team bright fuschia so I can see where they wandered off to. Not necessarily for the rest of CoV to see, just on my screen.
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Not that I am Bookkeeper...
About tar patch, with some experience and skill, a /dark MM can 'predict' where the foes will land and place the tar patch behind where the fight is going to start. It takes practice and it isn't intuitive by any means.
In regard to Repair, it does indeed have an endurance component. Most robot users are now putting around 35% endurance reduction in the protector bots and maybe the assault bot. Usually the pet sets have some endurance reduction in the combinations. 35% endurance reduction enhancement buffing in most cases will be enough for your robotic minions.
Meeting your robots needs for endurance cost reduction with slotting generally means you can skip Repair or delay it as Twilight Grasp from the mastermind and the dark servant is capable of filling the healing needs. -
This is a more traditional defendery type of build. I took hover just because of zone lag while tp'ing. Combat tp followed by EM Pulse and the choking cloud effects is very effective. This build was lucky enough for a TP: stealth proc and the Numina's recovery/regeneration proc to fall in his lap.
Key enhancing elements are getting Accelerated Metabolism, Hasten, and EM Pulse on a short recharge. Max out the ToHit debuff in Radiation Infection, and feed you Enervating Field and Choking Cloud plenty of endurance reduction.
Neutrino bolt will never one-shot Infernal, but it can be used as a proc mule since it fires so fast. There are a few procs that can work their way into Choking Cloud as well. Achilles heel procs should be grabbed as influence allows.
Without the veteran staff and cosmic burst, this build can solo, but slowly. It's a death of a thousand cuts. It's also AoE oriented, so you 'thousand cut' a number of foes at the same time. On a team, it's full of win. Debuff and destroy.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 48 Science Defender
Primary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Teleportation
Power Pool: Flight
Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Accelerate Metabolism -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Irradiate -- Empty(A)
Level 6: Radiation Infection -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Hasten -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Lingering Radiation -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Recall Friend -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Choking Cloud -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Enervating Field -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Teleport -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Hover -- Empty(A)
Level 28: Cosmic Burst -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Mutation -- Empty(A)
Level 32: EM Pulse -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Neutron Bomb -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Atomic Blast -- Empty(A)
Level 41: Power Build Up -- Empty(A)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Conserve Power -- Empty(A)
Level 49: Fallout -- Empty(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance -
These are the powers I took for my "PuG" build. I have two distinct builds: one where I do my best to keep everyone alive, and one where I know I cannot, the "PuG" build.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.401
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 48 Science Defender
Primary Power Set: Radiation Emission
Secondary Power Set: Radiation Blast
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Power Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Radiant Aura -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Neutrino Bolt -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Accelerate Metabolism -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Irradiate -- Empty(A)
Level 6: Radiation Infection -- Empty(A)
Level 8: Hasten -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Hurdle -- Empty(A)
Level 12: Lingering Radiation -- Empty(A)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Health -- Empty(A)
Level 18: Choking Cloud -- Empty(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- Empty(A)
Level 22: Assault -- Empty(A)
Level 24: Tactics -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Fallout -- Empty(A)
Level 28: Cosmic Burst -- Empty(A)
Level 30: Enervating Field -- Empty(A)
Level 32: EM Pulse -- Empty(A)
Level 35: Neutron Bomb -- Empty(A)
Level 38: Vengeance -- Empty(A)
Level 41: Power Build Up -- Empty(A)
Level 44: Temp Invulnerability -- Empty(A)
Level 47: Conserve Power -- Empty(A)
Level 49: Mutation -- Empty(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Vigilance
A lot of selections are rather optional in order. The fallout/vengeance combo is very effective with enough appropriate targets. Superspeed can be delayed if you have enough travel packs to get you through, but it does have a nice stealth component.
Now if only there were a way to disable those nasty self-rezzes teammates like to use. -
Fluffy could also be considered unwilling in that he is on a timer and must be resummoned periodically.
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I agree with pretty much everything Bookkeeper_Jay shared EXCEPT: I could never imagine skipping a power that AUTOHITs for STUN, -REGEN, SLOW all at the same time while coincidentally rezzing any non-pet teammate in close proximity. I take Howling Twilight, get maximum recharge so that it's available every other group. My Robots/Dark MM also took photon grenades to stack with the protobots to stack with Howling Twilight's stun. You can stun nullifiers and some bosses with nice sized AoE stuns from three stackable sources.
Saying that you have to have -regen to beat the tough bosses isn't exclusively true, but it does indeed help! Howling twilight takes a big bite out of enemy alpha strikes as well. It's indispensible.