StrykerX

I've been playing my Archery/Energy Blaster lately and picked up Rain of Arrows... I'm really liking it but I noticed a couple of odd things I wanted to ask about.

- Does Rain of Arrows hit the targets that are actually in range when it goes off? Most AoEs hit whatever was in range when you activated them, even if they run off while the power is animating, but RoA seems to check targets when it actually goes off.

- Does each of the three damage ticks have a separate attack roll? I've noticed sometimes some minions will survive Aim+BU+RoA while others in the same spawn with the same resists die. They're hurt so I know it hit them, but not as hard.

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docking one point for lack of top hat and/or monocle. ;^)

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the Goat is a very tuff judge

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He's just a traditionalist. I'll be nice and give the OP the benefit of the doubt and just assume the pic was taken on Casual Friday.

/Traps can take one attack without too much trouble if you take Stamina of have good +recovery bonuses (you don't even need that if you skip Leadership). Fitting two in will probably require skipping something more useful though, and is really overkill since you can get the one recharging fast enough to cycle Attack -> Web Grenade -> Taunt.

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I meant I'm usual not willing to spend the time figuring out which salvage I need, buying the salvage for non-buy now prices, and crafting the item. Sometimes I just don't care enough for a small additional profit.

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I've been running into this a lot lately thanks to MA and bronze ticket rolls. I've gotten several recipes that would make over a million profit if I crafted them, but ended up selling the recipe instead simply because of the time needed to craft and sell them. The longer turnover time for crafted IOs also matters... I'd rather get 300k profit today and clear the slot on an active character than get 3 million next week and have the slot tied up... too many drops to sell and not enough space.

I've never soloed one, but I've heard of people doing it. The only builds I know personally to have done it are:

Rad/Sonic Defender
Illusion/Rad Controller
Bots/Traps Mastermind

Of those three, the Illusion/Rad is by far the best at it since they are the only ones who can solo pretty much any GM, including Lusca. Bots/Traps MMs have soloed some but I don't think they can take all of the redside ones. A Sonic/Rad Corruptor might also be able to solo a GM, since the Defender version can.

Whichever route you go, you'll need a phenomenally expensive build. If Ill/Rad, you'll need Phantom Army up full time, which requires a ton of recharge, and I suspect you'll also need significant recovery (like the uniques). For a Rad/Sonic or Sonic/Rad you'll probably be shooting for a perma-Hasten, perma-AM build as well as softcapped ranged defense, again with massive +recovery. Bots/Traps would be the cheapest, but even there you'll need softcapped defense and recovery boosts, and you will probably have the lowest number of soloable GMs.

If you want to solo as many giant monsters as you possibly can, I'd suggest a fully purpled out Illusion/Rad Controller... take down all the blueside GMs you can, then when Going Rogue arrives flip him over to redside and do the same there.

Can the Market Teleporter temp power please be changed to only use a charge if it actually goes off? Right now it uses a charge even if it is interrupted, which is very annoying. Thank you...

What playstyle do you enjoy? All the villain ATs solo fairly well, though Brutes and MMs are generally the best at it. Since you don't want a MM, that leaves:

Brute - Great if you like nonstop, in your face action. There's very little strategy or finesse involved beyond "which mob do I smash first"... just nonstop plowing through everything you see. (Which is a lot of fun, by the way...)

Corruptor - Can solo very well if you pick the right secondary. Kinetics can boost your damage to near Blaster levels, and Rad can seriously boost your survivability. Traps is also nice since it gives you mez resistance, defense, and debuffs. Fire/Kin is an AoE death machine, and Sonic/Rad is deadly against hard targets (even AVs once you get IOed out). However, Corruptors are like Blasters in that they require more finesse to avoid faceplanting.

Dominator - After the I15 changes Dominators will be very good damage dealers, plus they have significant controls. They will probably solo faster and safer than most Corruptors, though /Rad Corruptors will be better against EBs and AVs with purple triangles.

Stalker - If you like stealthing to the end of a mission and killing the boss fast, this is the AT for you. They're a lot squishier than Brutes, but their insane burst damage and stealth means you can finish "defeat the boss" and "click the glowie" missions very fast. Think of them as Blappers with stealth... you can't stand and fight for very long but you can end the fight in a few seconds against small groups.

Personally, I prefer MMs over all, followed by Brutes. I like being able to solo anything I run into in a mission, and those two ATs are tough enough to handle elite bosses while still being able to take on hordes of minions. Though after I15 I'm definitely giving a Mind/Energy Dom a try...

^^ This.

Force Field Generator, Web Grenade, and Acid Mortar alone make Traps a good AV soloing set. The ability to avoid being stunned or held means you don't have to worry about losing your taunt, and perma-immobilization lets you tank an AV much easier since you can avoid the big melee attacks and PBAoEs (especially with the added defense from FFG). Add in -resist and -defense to speed up the fight and you've already got better tools than many sets. Now add in -damage, -regen, and an AoE regen boost for you and your pets and you have a very solid AV soloing machine.

Dark has plenty of debuffs and some heals, but no +defense (AVs resist most of the -tohit debuffs) or status protection and no immobilize (AVs resist slows so Tar Patch isn't enough). FF has defense and status protection, but no debuffs or immobilize and no healing. Pain has a ton of healing and status protection for the pets, but no personal status protection and minimal debuffs, plus no immobilize. And yes, the patron immobilizes can be slotted up to hold an AV... but not as well and they use more endurance doing it. Plus Web Grenade stacks enough to hold AVs and EBs with immobilization resistance... it can hold Professor Echo in place right through his Dispersion Bubble. With most AVs an immobilize is effectively 50-75% damage reduction since they can't melee you, and it's also a huge damage buff for Thugs or Bots due to the burn patches. Honestly, Web Grenade plus FFG alone would probably outdo half the other MM secondaries for AV hunting.

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I just dont see more damage being a reason to not want Permadom.

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I'm not claiming perma-dom is no longer desirable, just that the 2nd best option is a lot more competitive than it used to be. Some people may therefore opt for the 2nd best option based on cost.

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Don't forget that certain extreme recharge Dominator builds can perma-hold AVs through the purple triangles... getting such a build is sure to require purples.

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What do people think would be a good time for a pylon on a blaster?

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Anything under the current Scrapper record.

Damagewise, MMs tend to be up near the top. In particular, Thugs and Bots do huge AoE damage and decent single target, while Ninjas do insane single target and modest AoE. Mercs are a bit lower damage out of the box but can slot multiple Achilles Heel procs to compensate, and Necro is a bit less damage (still good though) and more control.

Add an AoE debuffing secondary and you have massive damage dealing potential... about the only things that hit harder are certain Blasters, some of the more extreme AoE Brute builds, and maybe Fire/Kins. However, a MM is a lot harder to kill than a Blaster or Fire/Kin so in practice they can solo better... the only real competition they have is from heavily IOed SS/Shield or SS/Fire Brutes.

Masterminds are also the best AV soloists around, depending on secondary. Bots/Traps doesn't even need IOs to solo some AVs and can do insane things fully tricked out... like soloing the ITF and taking out some giant monsters solo without temp powers. About the only thing that can solo more things is an Illusion/Rad Controller with perma-PA... they can solo literally anything in the game that isn't timed or the Hamidon, assuming they have enough patience.

Really there are a couple of cases where purples are very good:

- Ultra-high recharge builds, like perma-Doms (especially perma-Doms without Hasten) or perma-PA Illusion Controllers.

- TF farmers, since the bonuses stay when exemplared.

Other than that, they're good but not really worth the price compared to the next best thing. But then, the same is true of top-end gaming computers, fancy sports cars, Rolex watches... pretty much anything top of the line involves paying a huge premium for a minor improvement over the runner up.

I'm sure it's possible... you probably want a ton of defense and +HP, plus some recharge. I'd think a Fire/Mental would be better though, since Mental gives you a nice regen boost power and a PBAoE that stuns minions. It looks a lot more survivable.

On the other hand, /Fire does have more damage if you can somehow survive in melee range. I'd personally go with Fire/Mental for true solo and Fire/Fire for dual boxing with a Sonic Defender.

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I've been sorta doing that with irons for a while now; buy them all up from anywhere of 10-50k and reslisting for half a mil. You wait a long while and they sell in between gaps when some market hero floods it with cheap ones. but hell, they run out sometime.

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You know, I think I've figured out why I can't make the big bucks on the market. I see a possible niche, but think "no, people can't be that silly" and don't act on it. Then I see stuff like this...

I guess people really are that silly.

Here I was kicking myself for getting impatient and upping my bids to a bit above avrage price on three Positron's Blast sets after only a few days so I'd have them crafted within a week... and people are willing to pay half a million for a freaking common that they can pick up for 10k overnight even during a shortage? Sheesh!

(Oh, and I wouldn't so much call them "market heroes" as I would "people who don't want to waste a market slot on a stupid common so they sell low". I know on an active toon I certainly aren't going to clog slots trying to squeeze every last inf out of common drops when I'm going to be selling dozens more in two hours. )

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Anyone solo without using their personal 3 shooties or a shootie from a patron set?

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With Bots/Traps, easily. Poison Trap + the Assault Bot's plasma blasts for -regen and Acid Mortar for -resist (with an Achilles proc for more -resist) means the bots do plenty of damage.

With Bots/FF? Never tried... my Bots/FF is still a lowbie. Probably possible as long as you have enough recharge and duration in a patron immobilize to keep the AV in the burn patches, but it'd take a while. Without the immobilize I don't see it happening.

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I remember reading that assault bot has 2 different blasts that each does around 1000% -regen or so.

Isn't that huge in an AV fight and wouldn't that make the little extra damage thugs do over time, not matter?

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They only have a 30% or so chance to do the -recharge, so it's not guaranteed. Also, AVs resist -recharge by 85%, so you're looking at only -150% when it does land. It does help, especially against AVs with no enhanced regen, but it's still a lot better paired with a secondary that has debuffs since the plasma blasts alone won't usually keep them shut down full time. And especially against AVs with enhanced recharge where you need over 150% to shut them down.

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Set bonuses apply only to the player, not to pets and psuedo pets, except in the case of the Pet Aura enhancements that are specifically designed to affect the pet rather than the user.

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Does this mean Rain of Arrows doesn't benefit from +damage set bonuses? Or do those carry over since RoA inherits damage buffs?

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Lol, Masterminds are a fine At. I love my Dark/necro but if ya think they are the most powerful At out there bar none. Please see Silverado Post on Corruptor boards labled soloing multi AV at onces.

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Just wait until MMs get /Rad...

Bots/FF is the Stone Tanker of redside. You don't kill things fast, but you just don't die. Stone Tanks can stand there AFK with a PBAoE on auto and take out whole spawns, just like Bots/FF MMs can. Exxept the MM doesn't need a power on auto since the pets handle the damage.

Of course, the drawback to all that survivability is the slooooow trip to level 32 and the only average kill speed afterward. Again, kind of like a tank.

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so you guys are telling me Bot/FF can't do it?

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You can, but not nearly as easily as if you were /Traps. You have no debuffs other than the minor -regen in the Assault Bot's plasma blasts so you're going to need to rely on raw damage. That means the fight is going to go on for a while, so you need very solid defenses and good endurance management. It also means some AVs will be impossible... namely anything with enhanced regen / heals that you can't outdamage.

The first thing you'll want is a way to immobilize the AV. To get max damage from Bots you have to keep things in the Assault Bot burn patch, and you certainly don't want the AV running away to heal. That means taking your patron immobilize power and slotting the heck out of it... you need to be able to keep it stacked so I'd suggest frankenslotting it for max duration and recharge plus good accuracy and endurance. You'll be spamming it a lot so the endurance is important.

Next you need to keep the pets alive. Since AVs tend to squash pets like bugs that means you are probably going to want Provoke or Challenge. That way you can tank him yourself and let Bodyguard protect you, instead of relying on pet defense. Sure the pets are softcapped, but when the AV can one-shot them that doesn't help as much as you'd think. You're the only one tough enough (in Bodyguard) to take two hits in a row, and a single hit may kill the weaker bots.

That bring us to the next item: keeping yourself alive. Bodyguard helps, but you need healing and good defenses. AVs hit hard. You'll want to be softcapped yourself, or at least close to it, for Ranged defense. Good AoE defense also helps. Melee you can ignore, since the AV is going to be immobilized. The Blood Mandate set is a great source of ranged and AoE defense, and you'll want other defense bonuses too. Maneuvers can help too, and Leadership powers are always handy for MMs since the boost the pets. Assault will shorten the fight so that's also useful. And you'll want healing... Aid Self for yourself, and Aid Other for the pets. Ideally the Protectors will handle the pet healing, but you will probably need to help them at some point. Those heals are interruptible, so that's another reason to softcap your own defense.

Finally, you need to be able to keep up your taunts, immobilizes, and heals indefinitely along with any toggles you run (like dispersion Bubble and Leadership toggles). Ideally you'll want enough recovery that your blue bar never drops, no matter how long you fight. More realistically, you'll want a few large blue inspirations and enough recovery that you only need to use one every few minutes.

If you get all that, you should be able to solo at least some AVs. Or... reroll as Bots/Traps and solo some of the same AVs with only SOs slotted. Your choice...

(Yes, the debuffs in /Traps make that big a difference.)

I'd always assumed Fire Mastery since Fireball is the highest damage AoE in the ancillary pools, but looking at Stone Mastery the extra survivability does look to be worth the weaker AoE (especially since Fissure also stuns). Especially if you have enough recharge for perma-Earth's Embrace...

Fire/Psi is good now, but after the Dom changes I doubt it will be on top. Psi Shockwave is becoming essentially a Foot Stomp clone, so why not have a Brute's toughness and just use Foot Stomp? Rage + Foot Stomp + Shield or Fire secondary + tons of recharge = serious AoE goodness. Er, badness, since it's a villain.

As for where to find large swarms, the wall in Cimerora is always nice if you aren't padding missions. Or just run missions on the second difficulty level for more mobs and herd 2-3 spawns up at a time. If you're really feeling ambitious and have a solid build you can even get some people to fill in a team long enough to start a SF and then solo the spawns (you'll need another character to log out still on the team though).

Probably a Fire/Kin Controller blueside and a SS/Fire Brute redside. You want to mow down massive quantities of minions to get purples, so you need lots of AoE.

The Protector Bot bubbles are indeed enhanceable, and well worth slotting a couple of defense IOs. As for Tar Patch, you can't fully immobilize things with it since there's a minimum run speed (I think around 10% of normal). However, some things resist slows (AVs especially) so having over 100% can still be helpful. As for recharge, you want as much as you can get. Most spawns will be dead long before the Tar Patch wears off... it's less about stacking it and more about getting to drop a new one on the next spawn. I don't know if it stacks on the same target (like an AV) or not.

I have two level 50s: a Bots/Traps MM and an Energy/Energy Blaster. Both were a lot of fun, especially the MM (the only character I've played pretty much straight from 1 to 50 without swapping to an alt). Other characters I really enjoy and can see hitting 50 eventually:

Archery/Energy Blaster
Fire/Kin Controller
DB/SR Brute
Plant/Storm Controller

Most of my other characters may or may not ever get there... I tend to roll an insane number of alts.