Quaver
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Posts
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Superspeed and SJ are both unnecessary with Kinetics. Useful, but you can get both from the primary if you want them.
Fitness is also unnecessary, although useful, thanks to Transference. It will help you get to level 30 or so until you can slot Transference, but afterwards it's mostly a luxury.
Tactis helps, but Assault is largely not necessary either once you get Fulcrum Shift.
Most important thing to work into your build is a -KB IO (it fits nicely in Increase Density), only two powers in Kinetics really benefit from sets (Transfusion and Transference) so it's a pretty easy build to do cheaply.
As for sonic, all of the powers are solid choices with the possible exceptions of Shockwave/Dreadful Wail.
For soloing efficiency consider Siren's Song/Screech, this will make it much safer. -
I notice you also haven't considered Hasten in any of the builds...I find it a must, it's one of the luxuries of Kinetics that it's an easy set to achieve perma-Hasten with.
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I would also advise you to take ID, it's a great place to stick the steadfast protection -KB.
IMO you don't need Amplify, Tactics AND Power Boost. You can cap your own damage, and with good slotting you will only miss the minimum amount of time anyway. Out of the three I would suggest dropping Power Boost and perhaps replacing with Conserve Power, it does help when you can't rely on Transference...IE, fighting Carnie Illusionists, anything too dangerous to be in melee with, anything that flees. -
Quote:2nd vote for Kinetics/Sonic, it can reach really great damage on teams/large mobs, and with Siren's Song/Screech you have the safety. Plus the extra +recharge from Kinetics helps you get your attack chain sorted out earlier, maximising the -res debuffs. Plus it's fun!Originally Posted by Rhynwa
You might consider Kinetics. It goes great with /sonic... Siren Song the mob to sleep. Fulcrum Shift in the middle (it does NOT wake them up) then Ka-BOOOOM. Pop a blue, Transference off of anything still alive, continue on smartly. Kin gets really the +dam, +recharge buffs, and it gets nice debuffs in the -damage, -speed/-recharge, -end, a modest but noticeable -regen, but doesn't really have the -resistance that helps melt Bosses+ like snow... but /sonic does! This is a very nice combo that will make the blaster-to-defender damage drop less agonizing. The only tough moment is the 'sb plz''sb nao''u rn't blastr! dont nuke n00b!' in PUGs... heeeheeeheee -
Quote:I agree, but a possible way to get around this might be providing status protection/resistance Vs EVERYTHING. Ie sleeps included, terrorize, taunt, repel, KB, not entirely sure if -perception/placate are status effects but would be nice if these were also included. Nothing more annoying (besides stuns) than being blinded when you're playing a kin...Originally Posted by StratoNexus
Sonic, Empathy, and Kinetics can also provide that status protection to others. FF, Sonic, Traps, and Rad are the only sets that can grant themselves protection from status (resistance in the case of Rad). If all defenders have status protection, those sets lose an advantage, thus some of their desirability is lost.
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Quote:If you go into Menu/Options/Keymapping, you can scroll down and in the section that has "Select Teammembers 1 - 8" you can assign a key to each. Basically the same thing as binding/making your own macro, I tend to use Numpad 1 - 8 for teammembers, and Numpad 0 for Speed Boost.Originally Posted by Gypsy_of_Paradox
Anyone have a bind or macro that selects teammates by their position on the team? Like a macro that will select teammate number 5. Would be easier for me to keep my team boosted w/ binds. Thanks in advance
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Click "Manage NCSoft Account" after the game has loaded (before logging in, it's under the Login button) sign in, you can then see how many "veteran months" you've worked up since account creation. Vet rewards are awarded every three (paid) months, not by hours in game.
If you want to know how many hours you've spent on a particular character in game, have them go up to any Civilian whose name begins with "M" and click them. -
I have no experience with /Cold/ but IMO Shockwave isn't a great choice. It is knockBACK despite what the power info says, and carries no -res debuff.
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Quote:Minor nitpick: /Sonic has 6 attacks that each debuff by -20%Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
I mean, if you roll a Kin/Sonic, you can debuff a foe by 80% Res and reach the damage cap if you got plenty of minions around. And since Sonic has an AoE sleep, it would be very easy to do this. I would call this an OUTLIER as opposed to the AVERAGE.
Screech
Scream
Shout
Howl
Shriek
Dreadful Wail (okay situational)
but still I find I can get -100% easily. Which only goes on to support your argument anyway... -
Storm/Dark could work nicely, you get a Minion-only stun in the primary *and* the secondary which stack to affect up to (most) bosses. Tenebrous Tentacles will keep things inside Freezing Rain without stopping them from being knocked down, which is pretty funny to watch! Adds a bit more personal safety too. Dark's -tohit will also stack with Hurricane's huge -tohit.
Storm is tricky but powerful, in my experience. Should be fun! -
Radiation, Dark Miasma, Trick Arrow, Cold Domination, Kinetics *, Storm* all have the tools to keep you safe solo while providing damage boosts. All Defenders make good additions to a team IMO anyway but for help while soloing any set that debuffs is never a bad thing.
Secondary sets, depends more on your primary: Sonic Attack will help with extra damage, Dark/Psi/Energy/Ice all help to keep you safer. Really the only one I would think twice about is /Archery, as lethal is heavily resisted in the late game and it has no secondary effect besides extra accuracy.
*with practice... -
Quote:Having the potential to go against the grain of what the Devs describe in the AT's summary is one of the main reasons I enjoy Defenders. If this makes me an Offender, well sorry if this offends you (ha) but everyone is entitled to enjoy the game! Frankly with two Controllers and a good tank enemies will not really be posing any threat anyway, so wouldn't you rather have better damage from those 2 Defenders who are shuffling around looking for someone to heal (hmm nobody there, let's try ..hmm no wait they're all fine too.) or a mob to debuff before it dies 3 seconds later. Except for extreme content this kind of setup would be easy enough to not require buffing/debuffing anywho. So let us blastOriginally Posted by Folonius
No, the rest of the player base does not think that underplayed = underpowerd. They just don't want to suffer through playing a buff bot. When I look for a team, I want 2 defenders on my team because they offer the best defensive or offensive numbers to their buffs. I also want two controllers on my team, because they have holds, not because they have buffs. A defender buffs, a controller holds, and they are both good at what they do. I would never invite a controller to a team, expecting him to do nothing but buff, but I would invite a defender to a team and expect them to do nothing but buff while using their secondary to suplement their buffs.
The later is why I think people shy away from defenders. They don't like the underdamaging support toon even though their buffs are higher.
My Ideal team is 2 controllers, 2 defenders, a tank, and 3 damage toons. A defender is one of those toons that are great to have on a team, you just don't want to be the one playing them. Adding damage will make them more soloable, but it may have the potential of diluting them so players think of their defender more like an offender, and I hate offenders. I would still suffer through a damage increase to defenders though just to make more people like them.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Captain_Fabulous
I've suggested this before and I still think it would be an improvement over the current Vigilance.
I don't have a problem with the -endurance buff. I think it's completely appropriate for a Defender. The Defender running out of end usually spells doom, especially if they're a healer.
But instead of basing the buff on the aggregate health of the team, base it upon the number of foes nearby. The more foes you're fighting, the greater the discount. It could be setup just like Invincibility (but with a much wider range, say 25'?); gives a greater buff for the 1st foe and smaller buffs for subsequent foes up to a cap.
Doing it this way makes it fair across all Defender powersets, whereas current Vigilance is very biased and encourages poor defending. And it also would give the solo Defender a decent buff, whereas the current Vigilance gives squat. It also would be a much more consistent buff, as spawn sizes are relatively constant, based upon the team size and mission difficulty. The current Vigilance buff can vary widely from mission to mission, based upon team composition and critters fought. This makes it very difficult to rely upon it, further reducing its effectiveness.
Just my 2 cents.
I think this is a very simple improvement that will definitely please a lot without annoying those who enjoy the current Vigilance. -
Quote:Originally Posted by McNum
The more the Defender uses their primary powers, the bigger End discount they get?
That'd pretty much be the same idea as the current, as in the more trouble you're in, the bigger discount you'd get. Because when the Defender really starts spamming the primary powers, the fight is probably pretty fierce. Could also be a damage boost, but I doubt we'll get that.
This would help out all Defenders, some more than other, but that's numbers to tweak, and it's useful solo where the Defender End problems are worst.
I kind of like it.
The problem with this is some sets have toggle(s), others have none at all. If toggles gradually generated the new Vigilance, these sets would have a (slight) edge. I'm thinking more Storm, Dark, FF, Rad, Sonic. But if toggles *didn't* generate the new Vigilance, sets full of clickies would have the edge.. -
Even the title of the thread disagrees with your second statement. No AT in this game is obsolete, even if Defenders become less popular they'll never be useless. Personally I think Tanks are going to have a problem with Masterminds overshadowing them.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Hmmm so a forcefielder should be able to PFF while slept (which will have no effect since toggles supress while mezzed and if it does have effect would make this vastly overpowered.)
Cast Deflection Shield on teammates that probably still have it on
and Cast Force Bolt which would actually be worthwhile.
TAs could do Entangling, Flash and Glue arrows. All potentially worthwhile.
Empaths would function for n00bs and lowbies pretty much like they function when not mezzed.
Stormies would be able to gale and and potentially affect an entire spawn.
Free other teammates from Mez with O2 boost while themselves mezzed
and cast an offensive toggle (snow storm) which should detoggle immediately after casting due to the mez.....
ok that's far enough. Me no likey and it's not close to balanced.
Compared to Kinetics which has selfish tier 1/2/3 powers as well, the whole AT is just so varied I don't think this could work. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Seraphael
I agree to a point. Giving Kinetics to Controllers was a huge mistake, but it can easily be fixed. If there is a will, there is a way.
As mentioned above, Fulcrum Shift is brokenly overpowered. The extreme level of offense in the set was probably designed to offset the weak defense. However, a Controller has powers that provide excellent defense. Consequently, they won't feel the achilles heel of the set and only reap the VAST benefits.
Kinetics must be adressed as a whole. The power of Fulcrum Shift should be significantly lowered. Simultaneously, other powers should be boosted. Siphon Speed could be changed from single target to AoE (slow/-recharge) while keeping its self effect as is. The duration of ally only buffs should be increased.
As a result, Kinetic Defenders would lose in offensive capability. As they should. But get some defense to compensate. Kinetic Controllers would not benefit as much as Defenders from the above Siphon Speed change.
The damage cap of all ATs should be lowered. Controllers (and Brutes I guess), mostly so.
With these changes, and buff to Defender inherent, we would have a much more level playingfield.
Why should Kinetics Defenders lose offensive capability? Some sets are dangerous, but with practice and luck you can get a lot more from them. Other sets are safer and more predictable, but ultimately more fun for some players. Even though stuns drive me insane if Kinetics swapped out any one of its powers for personal mez protection it would get boring. Which essentially is what Controllers can achieve with their controls.
I have always wanted Siphon Speed to function in the same way Siphon Power did. One enemy is debuffed, but you can give much more speed to your team if used well. It makes thematic sense (in my world) too. -
If it gets THAT obviously bad, surely some change to Vigilance is waiting in the wings...
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Quote:I was being daft, it's veeeery early in the morning here! Nothing says "get off my blaster" like a force bolt/power push/*pause for a giggle*/repulsion bomb!Originally Posted by Biospark
Absolutely. But there is a hole in that defense. And unfortunately it rears its ugly sleepy head quite alot
I guess 'soft' is just the term I used. Semantics really. Bottom line is FF and Energy have great syngery.
And KB is mitigation,control, defense whatever term you prefer.
If I were to try FF again, Energy may be overkill combined with FF, so Sonic or Dark might work better. -
Quote:This sounds almost too good to be true. I would prefer a +recharge instead of +damage however, it would help "keep up the good work" with the buffs/debuffs.Originally Posted by Bookkeeper_Jay
I would suggest the Defender be given an inherit that boosts the Defender's Debuffs/Buffs when the team is in danger, and when the team is doing fine to give the Defender a good damage buff (about 50% if the team is doing fine).
Now let me explain it intelligently that also works conceptually for the AT. "Vigilance allows the Defender, when his/her allies are in ciritcal condition, to search within himself/herself for the strength to overcome the odds often resulting in more powerful buffs or debuffs, and when his/her allies are at full fighting strength the Defender has an empowering feeling of accomplishment giving more power to his/her attacks"
Basically if the team is gettin' hammered you get a sort of Power Boost effect to your buffs/debuffs, and when the team is doing fine you get a damage buff. Solo the scaling factor of buff/debuff to damage buff ratio would reflect on the Defender's own status.
Just a thought. -
Erm...no I don't agree. Vigilance could use a look-over, but Defenders still rock even with that inherent disadvantage.
Personally I love that we have a buff primary, it means you get the best buffs first. So if nothing else, we'll still rule the Sewers!
erm, and I'm new to the US boards but isn't someone supposed to say DOOOOM ? -
Quote:Did you take Sonic Dispersion? That provides mez protection..?Originally Posted by Biospark
Its funny you mentioned Sonic Thats one of the other sets that tops my list of needs help. I used your self-defense guide and ran a Sonic/Energy and a FF/Energy both to level 22+. The sonic defender burned several respecs and in the end I had the same results. Fighting Smash/Lethal non-mezzers and I was a GOD. anything else, especially mezzers and I was waking up in the hospital more than I would care to.
I DID learn a new respect for FF though. FF+Energy blasts = soft control hehe
And I would say there's nothing soft about FF/Energy ;-) -
I don't want to say "maybe it's Vigilance that needs to change to assist the weaknesses in the primaries" because I think we're all bored of picking that one apart...
but ya know. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Turbo_Ski
actually, TA honestly doesn't have much. The debuffs as a whole aren't that much stronger than Kin's debuffs but it's the in-set heal that helps kin out more defensively than TA. Frankly I see this more of an issue with Flash+PGA+Glue still not being very fluid or potent. Adjusting flash's -tohit a bit higher (not too much) and making PGA's sleep more reliable would make TA's mitigation less spotty without being higher than rad's.
IMO, Kinetics has "enough" mitigation with the -damage and -recharge, but it takes time to establish. Compared to TA that can, if needed, simply use EMP Arrow, layer debuffs, then blast - a lot of things will be dead before they become unmezzed. Alternate with OSA for less guaranteed control and it's much less of a gamble than Kinetics (not considering secondary/epic/pool mitigation). Also with Transfusion requiring melee range, you have to hope you can survive the alpha before you get close enough to bounce back from it.
Of course my extreme lack of hand-eye-coordination might be influencing me here.. ;-D -
I don't think the Ally-Only buffs should be changed, they work well and do their job. It's just a bit disappointing looking at your power tray, knowing that there are at least a couple of powers you can't play with. I think maybe the disappointment is amplified by our inherent ALSO being unavailable solo.