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Tonality

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  1. Tonality
    A cheap SS/WP:
    -No BoTZ recipes
    -No Obliterations
    -No LOTG
    -No Numinas
    -No Performance Shifter Proc

    Expensive items:
    -3 Touch of Death Sets will cost you some coin, but not terrribly as much
    -I think the Gaussian's Rech/End tends to be a bit pricey. At least one of those is.

    Features:
    -30 second Shield Charge w/o hasten
    -Perma pez prot w/o hasten
    -Softcapped to all 3 positions
    -3 effective AoE attacks in Shield Charge, Footstomp, and Dark Obliteration
    -3 unassigned slots for personal taste.
    -Excellent accuracy w/o rage.
    -Flexibility for future upgrade. Cheap IO's sets from Red Fortune, Detonation, and generics can be scrapped during the respec without serious loss. Other sets are typical of high-end builds (like gaussian's and touch of death)

    Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.601
    http://www.cohplanner.com/

    Click this DataLink to open the build!

    Level 50 Magic Brute
    Primary Power Set: Super Strength
    Secondary Power Set: Shield Defense
    Power Pool: Leaping
    Power Pool: Fitness
    Power Pool: Speed
    Power Pool: Fighting
    Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery

    Villain Profile:
    Level 1: Punch -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(5), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), T'Death-Dam%(27)
    Level 1: Deflection -- RedFtn-Def(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(7), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(19), RedFtn-EndRdx(29), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(40), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(40)
    Level 2: Haymaker -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(3), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(5), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(17), T'Death-Dam%(23)
    Level 4: Battle Agility -- RedFtn-Def(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(7), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(27), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(29), RedFtn-EndRdx(39), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(40)
    Level 6: Combat Jumping -- DefBuff-I(A)
    Level 8: Knockout Blow -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(9), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(9), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), T'Death-Dam%(23)
    Level 10: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
    Level 12: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(13), RechRdx-I(13)
    Level 14: Super Speed -- EndRdx-I(A)
    Level 16: Health -- Heal-I(A), Empty(34), Empty(50), Empty(50)
    Level 18: Rage -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(19), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(37), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(43), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Build%(46)
    Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(21), EndMod-I(21)
    Level 22: Active Defense -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(50)
    Level 24: True Grit -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(25), Heal-I(25)
    Level 26: Phalanx Fighting -- DefBuff-I(A)
    Level 28: Boxing -- Empty(A)
    Level 30: Tough -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), Aegis-ResDam(31), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(31), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31)
    Level 32: Foot Stomp -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(33), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(33), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(34), FrcFbk-Rechg%(34)
    Level 35: Shield Charge -- Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg(36), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx(36), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(36), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(37), RechRdx-I(37)
    Level 38: Weave -- RedFtn-Def(A), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx(39), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(39), RedFtn-Def/Rchg(48), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg(48), RedFtn-EndRdx(48)
    Level 41: Gloom -- Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(42), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg(42), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx(43), Thundr-Acc/Dmg(46)
    Level 44: Dark Obliteration -- Det'tn-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx/Rng(45), Det'tn-Dmg/Rchg(45), Det'tn-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Det'tn-Acc/Dmg(46)
    Level 47: One with the Shield -- ResDam-I(A)
    Level 49: Against All Odds -- EndRdx-I(A)
    ------------
    Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
    Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
    Level 1: Fury
    ------------
    Set Bonus Totals:
    • 16% DamageBuff(Smashing)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Lethal)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Fire)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Cold)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Energy)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Negative)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Toxic)
    • 16% DamageBuff(Psionic)
    • 9.88% Defense(Smashing)
    • 9.88% Defense(Lethal)
    • 11.4% Defense(Fire)
    • 11.4% Defense(Cold)
    • 11.8% Defense(Energy)
    • 11.8% Defense(Negative)
    • 3% Defense(Psionic)
    • 16.8% Defense(Melee)
    • 16.8% Defense(Ranged)
    • 15.2% Defense(AoE)
    • 15% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
    • 25% Enhancement(Accuracy)
    • 9% FlySpeed
    • 95.6 HP (6.38%) HitPoints
    • 9% JumpHeight
    • 9% JumpSpeed
    • MezResist(Held) 8.25%
    • MezResist(Immobilize) 14.9%
    • MezResist(Sleep) 1.65%
    • 4.5% (0.08 End/sec) Recovery
    • 20% (1.25 HP/sec) Regeneration
    • 3.78% Resistance(Fire)
    • 3.78% Resistance(Cold)
    • 1.88% Resistance(Energy)
    • 6.25% Resistance(Negative)
    • 14% RunSpeed
    • 1% XPDebtProtection
  2. Tonality
    This may seem OT, but it isn't - read on.

    PvP in this game really suffers from attempting to be integrated yet separate. The devs should decide which direction to go instead of trying both. With things like dual builds and different PvP rules, I really do thing the devs should continue to sever ties to PvE.

    For example, let's look at gladiator pets. You unlock them from badges that are most likely earned doing PvE content in a PvE zone. To most PvE'ers, gladiator badges are simply another badge. To PvP'ers, it's just another PvE element they have to do to make their PvP character.

    Let's look at PvP IO's as well. A great idea - sets that are PvP friendly. However, when implemented, a horrid drop rate paired with their attractive use for PvE has made some of these heavily contested for PvP'ers, but for powergamers, which may or may not PvP. As a carrot on a stick for encouraging PvE'ers to enter PvP, the high prices and limited availability discourage players, because it creates a mentality that only a very expensive build is viable in PvP, when this isn't necessarily the case!

    Back to topic.

    Where exactly would this power be used? If it is for PvE, it is not a good idea for the reasons listed above - the PvP environment needs to separate itself from PvE and attract players on the very merit of itself - the opportunity to PvP.

    If it's for PvP, I don't want any more pets for PvP. Pets are stupid and offer little more than a distraction. Worse case, they aggro some NPCs and suddenly I'm subjected to non-DR enemies in a DR environment.

    However, your idea does point to an intersting issue: Why are gladiator badges unlocked via PvE when it's a PvP function? Why isn't this entire gladiator system built around PvP activity?
  3. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MANLY View Post
    I have a Dark Armor/Super Strength brute I IOed out, he is now getting purples as I can afford them, but the problem I am having is he needs more defense/resistance. Other than that he is a powerhouse IMHO..

    I cannot seem to get the MIDS build up so I will try again later, but if you have any suggestions before I am open to any kind of help.
    If it's a formatting issue, use phpBB forums, Fruit Salad color scheme. It tends to give the least amount of trouble on the forums (official board is set for the old forums).

    You can get excellent performance without spending them on purples. Most purples offer great accuracy and recharge bonuses. However, there are plenty of alternatives.

    With /DA, I tend to lean towards building toward a large amout of +HP. The reason is that since DA has such a powerful heal, you have the capability of healing a tremendous amount of health back. While you can stack around 39% defense onto a build like that, you sacrifice +HP and more importantly, recovery to do this. You're already on a set known for being end-hungry, and paired it with SS for rage crashes.

    Okay, so now that I've talked you out of purples maybe, let's talk about where to put purples!

    Footstomp:
    5 of the Armageddon set, skipping the dmg IO.
    1 Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge
    --This gives you excellent cycle time on footstomp, adding wonderful frequent knockdown to help you live longer. Not only that, but if Force Feedback fires, you get to footstomp even sooner!
    --Armageddon has a wonderful dmg proc for fire dmg (wish it did SFX), and some great set bonuses.

    Gloom:
    5 Apocalypse, skip the Dam IO
    --This particular set offers +HP and +Regen as the first two bonuses. Quite the gem for a brute to have. Oh, and of course recharge and accuracy come standard.
    --So what better than to add a proc that does negative damage to an attack that does negative damage?

    Dark Obliteration:
    5 Ragnarok, 1 optional additional proc.
    --Here we have only a few options for slotting a targetted AoE. We get positron's blast (which the 6th slot if you pick this set benefits from a generic rech IO), and Ragnarok. Detonation is sort of nice if you need the AoE defense.
    --Here's another typical purple set. Recovery, Accuracy, and Recharge.

    Those are the three major purple sets to think about. There's also hecatomb you could put in Knockout Blow. But, that' enough for now.

    Now, those purple sets cost quite a bit, especially the Armageddon. If you are an impatient buyer, expect to spend around 1.5 billion on Armageddon. The others are slightly cheaper.

    If you're not wanting to spend that much coin (I don't blame you either), we can talk about options.

    Obliteration instead of Armageddon
    Positron's instead of Ragnarok
    Devastation or Decimation instead of Apocalypse
    Crushing Impact instead of Hecatomb

    There are plenty of tricks of the trade with slotting sets, and plenty of ways to build a character. I made a claws/WP build last night, and this morning, when I completely rebuilt the build from scratch, it turned out different. Some stuff was the same. But somehow I'd focus on +HP instead of a bit of reistance there or a little more accuracy here at the cost of some endurance there, and so forth. In other words, your brothers of SMASH will be more than happy to help you think through and design your brute so you can wake up the next morning and somehow find that your hasten is now two slotted, but you gained 18 HP.
  4. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Finduilas View Post
    Tonality, I very rarely slot the Erad quad; it's just not worth the infl, IMO. I generally go with 3 Erad for the E/NE bonus, then add 2 slots from another set with lots of end reduction. It means I miss out on the HP bonus, but I can live with that.
    You're right. It's easy to think up builds when you're not footing the bill!

    That is some solid advice.
  5. Tonality

    CoH, Bots, and RMT

    POST-ACTION

    I loathe bots, and a new MMO lost a subscriber because of botting/RMT. While it looks like they are taking steps now, during the first two weeks, I detected no evidence of any in-game action against bots that I repeatedly reported day after day.

    In more competitive games, botting is an easy way to acquire in-game currency, items, and level your character without working at it. If you want the best for your character, it's far easier to bot and go sleep overnight and wake up to wonderful drops. In the particular game I played, ultra-rare drops were announced in broadcast. It disgusted me when AGAHUGA got this awesome weapon I knew for all purposes was beyond my means of ever having.

    As for CoH, botting is rather silly. In other games where there is a severe grind where hundreds of player actions only make a fraction of a point of progress, I can understand why players want to bot - because the progression rate makes them incredibly impatient. I don't think it's right, but I can at least understand why. And for those games, I blame the developers for making a grind-fest.
  6. Tonality
    Patron advice:
    Go Thematic with Mu Mastery, or pick up Soul mastery for to-hit debuffs in dark obliteration and a little better damage. For the refit, that means dropping a melee attack or two. I suggest dropping either charged brawl or havoc punch. Jacob's Ladder is awesome. That said, if you want to do the ITF, drop Jacob's for more S/L def.

    Either Mu Lightning or Gloom will help your single-target attacks.

    Build advice:
    -Upgrade your focused mite triple to mako's triple for a little bit more acc/end/rech
    -Upgrade that smashing haymaker set.
    -Slotting up health will help your natural regen.
    -It isn't cheap, but your missing the eradication quads in your sets.
    -Consider adding in a kismet 6% for better to-hit.
    -Look like you're trying to keep a modet budget here, so I won't recommend the 7.5's.
  7. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Frogfather View Post
    Well purple and black on blue background doesnt look too good...
    It's unreadable redside. Luckily, I'm reading it via the textbox instead.
    OP, please export with fruit salad.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dephrenalator View Post
    Hi Guys here is the build for Electric Melee/ Sheild Brute (well in my opinion that is and I agree I may well be wrong about this lol)
    I'll be gentle, but I will say this: This is not the definitive Elec/SD brute.

    It is a good Elec/SD brute.

    The patrons really do help round out builds. I recommend you look into them.

    Quote:
    I promised a few people I would post my build on here so here it is .. feel free to comment send criticism or wonder in awe at how it has been done lol
    I tweaked your build. (still no purples)

    Changes:
    -Added in the FF proc for +recharge spikes. (Had to switch sets of jacob's and thunderstrike)
    -Since you had 2 9% acc's over the cap, I swapped the LOTG Defense with Red Fortune defense to give you better endurance efficiency and save a small amount of coin. If you hate being cheap, buy a hami instead.
    -Added another LOTG to grant cover. You have better endurance eff now, so if you need to run it, you can with similar cost to what you had now.
    -Against All Odds already is a good taunt, plus you have good AoE's to hold aggro. No need for the taunt IO.
    -I was able to place a kismet 6% Acc (to-hit) IO in your build. Now you can actually hit those +4's. (I kid, I kid)
    -Personally, capping AoE defense isn't too important and actually gets in the way of building for recharge. However, to match your build, I kept it.

    Numbers:
    1) 331% vs 270% regen (27.6 vs 22.4)
    2) 2.16 net recov vs 2.08 net recov
    3) Force Feedback gains some recharge

    Code:
    | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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    edit: 2:

    Here's an example of an Elec/SD with the patrons. Getting the patrons adds recharge and recovery to a build, as well as additional AoE. It sacrifices DDR (which unless you're going to tank an ITF, isn't a big deal), for more recharge. It also is fairly easy to switch out to purples or sacrifice AoE defense (AoE attacks are both uncommon and do not hit hard) to squeeze out even more recharge.

    Code:
    | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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  8. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by megaman09 View Post
    First,let me say i never really rolled an /stone for my second power, it alway seem to slow for my style of play.That said now i want to roll one as my "farm money maker". What i want to know is, what power are must have,and play style suggestions when rolling an stone.Do i need hasten,teleport or both.just trying to get an feel to see what im up against. Another thing how much infamy am i going to need to put in him ? he should already be pretty strong see hes an stone.
    It depends on what you want out of your Stone. If you're looking to negate the penalties of stone, you're looking at recharge and runspeed sets, and probably some defense sets scattered in as well to round out your defenses. As for a price tag on that, I'll put my mace/stone build at about 2 billion on today's market easily. (just lots of very expensive rares and hamis). But, I wanted a stone brute that didn't need a kin.

    With all that said, stone is not the ideal choice. If you're spending that much inf to deal with the negative penalties while other sets can survive and benefit even more from that same investment, it just isn't practical.

    Stone Armor is cool, incredibly tough, and incredibly expensive if you want to trick it out. If you don't, find a friendly kin.
  9. Tonality
    Popping in for a couple quick comments.

    Gospel: It's Operative Grillo for Snake Temple

    Dunkelzahn_NA: Head to the Market Forum. You'll find some decent advice throughout the forum on making inf. Also, there are ways to build an elec/sd without breaking the bank. Take a look at sets like multistrike, which offers both melee AND AoE Defense. The recharge is just awful, but for a build on a budget, it's a great option.

    DarkInvado:
    Just about everything redside is expensive right now. This is because the market has been in short supply, so things are scarce.

    The short answer is take out the hamis. They cost 125-200 mil easy.

    Since you're already happy overslotting your toggles, look at red fortune. It's a cheap set and not as good as LOTG, but it offers 5% rech and 2.5% rng def, and is cheap. A good option for someone who doesn't have the inf to buy 7.5's right at the moment.

    The detonation in ball lightning isn't doing much for ya. Either grab a generic rech, or an acc/rech or an end/rech of some type.

    3 Titanium or 3 Aegis in Tough will give ya HP or *some* AoE def.

    I'm sure there are other things I can spot and I might edit this later and add more. I'm heading out to do an ITF.

    --LOTG 7.5's are 150-200 mil right now.
  10. Tonality
    Both sets are fun and have a slightly different method of control.

    Both have the AoE KD going on with Ice Slick and Quicksand+Earthquake. (slick is faster to throw down)

    Earth has the AoE stun/immob combo for 'holds'
    Ice has shiver for -rech

    Personally, I lean toward Earth/Rad.
  11. Tonality
    When it comes to least fun, it can't be a passive power for me. This is because I don't CLICK on it and wait for it to animate.

    Most Fun Powers:
    1) Lightning Rod/Shield Charge Combo -> Fireball. WHEEEEEEEE...burn.
    2) Footstomp/Knockout Blow with the new animations
    3) Fireball. I mean, seriously. It's a ball of frickin' fire.
    4) Ice Patch. Don't you even DARE think about that AoE immob!
    5) Sonic Repulsion Field. I've dreamed of the day where I finally decide to toggle the brute with this.

    Least fun Powers:
    1) Snipes. Snipes should crit if the target is unaware. Right now they're sub-par on teams for my time.
    2) Blackstar. Just because something sounds cool doesn't mean it looks cool.
    3) Personal Force Field. I HATE NEMESIS. Granted, if you have it, it's great. But, put it on an NPC and /em shakesfist.
    4) The mastermind pet buffs. Yes, they're AoE's now, but now if I want to resummon my stupid arsonist, I have to burn through half of my end every time after the two buffs and my secondary buffs.
    5) Tough. Why? Because out of all my characters, the only one that likes to go RAWR is my lizard. The rest just jump up and down.

    edit: Oh and I forgot deceive. Sooo much fun.
  12. Tonality
    Well, it's definitely non-essential.

    The only thing I'd point out is that the devs that would do this work are the ones that would bring you things like:
    -Power Customization
    -Weapon Redraw Fixes

    Those are two very important things I would love to see more focus on. I suspect I will anyway.

    That's right Babs and team, get to work!
    Oh, and thanks for all the nice stuff so far.
  13. Tonality

    My Version of PvP

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill View Post
    /this.

    Actually, I'd have to say Aion is (likely) worlds easier to balance. Both sides have the exact same classes, after all. Each class has the same powers, with Stigmas being the only variation really available (gear excluded - yes, you can skip some skills, but generally at X level a given class will have Y skills available.) You can balance a Ranger vs a Spiritmaster (for instance) in a pretty straightforward way. (Of course, with semi-open-world in the Abyss and Rifts, they really need to stay on top of it.)

    Here... you can't balance a Controller versus a Corruptor. Which Controller, what secondary, what slots, what travel power/pool powers, what enhancements? Then do the same vs the Corruptor. The powersets individually work much differently, and then you work on the combinations... oy.

    I don't envy the devs job in trying to 'balance' all this in PVE, much *less* PVP. And that's not going into NPCs not following the same rules.
    There is a lot of things the devs could take notes of from Aion. For example, when mezzed, players in Aion get resistance bonuses (you can take them out of the fight, but they're harder to kill). Technically, their 'holds' are similar to our sleeps. Mez durations are limited (like they are now here), but also have a longer recharge timer (which we don't have). A similar approach would bring a level of balance to PvP. Mezzing can be balanced without suppression, but the end result is a build so foreign to the normal gameplay of CoH, it will be hard for new players to learn.

    I definitely agree. It's a lot harder to balance in CoH than Aion. But there are a ton of issues, and it's even further complicated by the enhancement system. Aion doesn't have complex builds. I can't effectively slot for 'recharge' on my attacks. It is a lot more rigid.

    I'm hoping that with some of these devs playing Aion right now they're also taking notes about what does and doesn't work in PvP - and especially what makes PvP fun. It's not dangling some nice armor or weapon in front of me that makes me want to PvP - it's the rush of seeing just how many people I can take down before I'm taken out, only to return with a vengeance.

    But, I haven't spent a lot of time in CoH PvP, so I'm not an expert. I'll entertain the thought of PvP and think about fun builds in PvP. But in reality, I'm more or less waiting for something to happen.
  14. Tonality
    Invuln can get some shockingly good typed defense numbers, however it's harder to softcap than a tank is. But given an aggressive brute playstyle, you can probably be comfortable with ~36% S/L defense, because 4 foes in range of invincibility will soft-cap you, which isn't hard to do on teams. Soloing ??/8 difficulty I'd suggest dropping S/L defense even further to around 32%, pushing for more recharge. But, I'm not an invuln expert.


    I have a mace/stone brute I IO'd to the gills to deal with the recharge and speed problems. Every once in a while I'll dust it off if I need a strong tank, or I'm feeling lazy and just want to be a taunt bot for a while. It's decent.

    I'd also suggest Mace/EA (nrg). If you haven't tried EA, it's a decent set, though it has a psi hole (so does invuln and stone). Not having to care about end is nice and really frees you up.

    For a Mace/Elec, I think I'd go for stacking around 32% melee def on it to increase survivability. I wouldn't take it on an ITF with that kind build unless the team had a VEAT or a bubbler. But given the number of oblits you can socket in mace, you could get a decent set with some end tools to offeset the lack of end redux in oblit.
  15. Tonality
    I've tried defense builds on /DA, and I've never been happy with the results either.

    Try going the +HP/recovery route. You just have to live long enough for your heal to recharge and have the end to pay for it.

    In particular, Eradication looks like it will do nicely. +End, +HP, and a little bit of nrg defense to help with that hole.
  16. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Heraclea View Post
    This character is a bit of an experiment, a blastrolfender. I want to give her enough drain to be noticeable in a long fight while keeping the damage high enough that the character can solo. My main concern now is getting enough melee survivability while doing all that to live after I follow the tank into the herd.
    Post APP, I'd definitely go cold mastery and stack on more S/L defense sets. Luckily, you can get some decent numbers without breaking the bank with Rectified Recticle, Lethargic Repose and Enfeebled Operation.

    Pick up flash freeze, sleep your enemies, run in and use DP. You also have hoarfrost for some extra HP if you need it, plus with stacked S/L def, you're fairly tough against a lot of things in this game.

    If you're not looking at surviving a nuke crash, you don't even have to slot for end mod, because hitting 2-3 mobs will be plenty of recovery. The only reason to do so may be for frankenslotting an Efficacy Acc/Rech.

    As for adding some control take a look at both Ice Blast and Ice Manipulation sometime. You don't have to pair them, but you might find some very attractive controls in those two sets. Sleeps, AoE KD's, Holds and Slows are all available in that set.

    With all that said, Drain Psyche is awesome, and is useful for yourself and potentially for -regen of hard targets.
  17. Tonality

    My Version of PvP

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ReclusesPhantom View Post
    I actually like these suggestions, except for getting rid of PvP zones. I think that one's a bit annoying, especially with all those lovely badges and artwork. Revamp them into PvE or PvPvE zones? Then yes!
    To make them PvPvE zones they'd have to return PvP to its original state. Dealing with things like travel suppression, heal decay, and diminishing returns against NPC's that aren't subjected to the same rules is incredibly frustrating if you are used to how NPC's behave in PvE content.

    I'm all for a PvPvE revamp of zones, but I don't see it happening, and I really don't see people liking the current learning curve in PvP. I loved PvPvE in Aion, and I'm sure with some dev focus, I could like it here. But, the NPCs would have to be drastically reworked to even be viable in the current PvP setting.
  18. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Yoshitomo View Post
    Rad? New? I16 was released in September, that's hardly new. There's tons of advice on electricity for scrappers. Is it just not very popular then? Actually, I don't think I've been in a single team without another rad blaster, so it can't be that bad. There were 3 of us in a team the other day.
    Rad is still new.
    Electric was a slightly cleaner port, but Rad for blasters changed some numbers. Also, the scrapper forums have quite a few number crunchers there that love figuring out attack chains and whatnot.

    Rad is nowhere near bad. It's a great set, and very flexible with procs.

    Quote:
    I appreciate your response, but instead of simply putting me down, could you try to be more helpful? Such as, what would you suggest in place of Force Mastery?
    That wasn't putting you down. I'll avoid using adverbs like woefully next time.

    I am a fan of cold mastery, but that's because I like stacking sets to get some impressive S/L defense going. I also like having access to hoarfrost as a +HP/heal and hibernate if things really get bad. Plus, as a solo-tactic, Flash Freeze lets you run in first and avoid an alpha, hit Drain Psyche, and get busy. But, force mastery has some nice tools as well. It's a decent choice. It isn't my personal favorite for function, but it will serve you well.

    Quote:
    I'd actually made some of the changes you suggested already. And I've also changed some of the other things you said so what does this look like now?
    If you do decide to go with ice mastery, I'd look at sets that increase your S/L defense. Rectified recticle in Aim/Concentration is useful. As is Enfeebled in your immob, Lethargic Repose in your sleep, reactive armor in tough, and kinetic combat in melee attacks. But that's an entirely different build focus. I just wanted to let you know that this is an option. It isn't better or best, just different. For my Rad/MM build (check for my topic posted here), you'll a soft-capped S/L build. Anyway, onto things that you can do with your current build.

    TK Thrust is useful. I think I skipped it for mind probe on mine. You can get around a mag 45 KB out of that power 4 slotting it. That should help you KB a lot of the tougher enemies in this game when needed. Very handy solo, as well as for PvP if a player doesn't have 41+ KB protection.

    I didn't go with range defense on mine because Rad/MM thrives on being in melee range. You have irradiate, drain psyche, psychic shockwave, and atomic blast (if your build hits 7+ enemies with DP, you get an essentially crashless nuke).

    Speaking of DP, you can get a little more accuracy by switching efficacy's end/rech with end/acc. You lose very little recharge doing that, and have a better chance at hitting things.

    Another thing to look at is synergy. You already have the PBAOE pairing, but Rad/MM also has two cones available - Electron Haze and Psychic Scream. While Electron Haze doesn't have the range of Psychic Scream, this will help your AoE. It's also important to note that while neutron bomb claims it has a 1.67 second animation time, it doesn't feel even remotely close to that. Also, Cosmic Burst is on a 40 ft. leash as well, so you should have some tools to determine how close you need to be.

    The great thing about rad is just how many fun things you can do with it. You have many procs available to use, such as achilles' heel: chance for -res, a few dmg procs, and various things you can do to your build. There are a lot of directions you can go with a build like this. I'm happy to help you optimize numbers in any direction you take.
  19. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Emberly View Post
    Yeah I was looking at adding some defense but it seems like a hard road to go down to get decent numbers. I'm wondering if I should go for S/L defense via reactive armors and kinetic combats, stack tough and weave in there, see what else I can find? Positional defense doesn't look to be that easy to come by with these sets. Also Kinetic Combats are pricey, ugh.

    The other option is to build for recharge bonuses but like Tweeks says claws doesn't need that much +rech to be awesome and I am wondering if it's really worth it to aim for recharge when only two powers are really gonna get mileage from it.

    Are sapping builds decent even if your primary isn't electrical melee? Does Lightning Field take up the slack that Power Sink leaves?
    Sapping depends entirely on your difficulty settings. At +3 or higher, sapping is not effective. If you do decide to try sapping, make sure you pick up the mu patron attacks as well to round out your abilities.

    Building for melee def is doable. You just have to use Touch of Deaths Obliteration, and overslot some toggles with Titanium Coating. On the current market, this is the cheaper route over S/L def.

    You could also consider building your /elec for +HP/Regen.

    As a side note, I run my SS/elec with 39% S/L def. It works decently well, though I can still get debuffed by cims.
  20. Tonality

    Em/ea

    POST-ACTION

    Energy Melee had a recent nerf. Or at least, that's what a few of us like to call it. Basically, the animation times were increased, and that really hurt the single-target DPS of that set. Now, dark melee is king for single target DPS.

    Energy Aura is an unusual set, partly because it's a twisted version of ice armor (gimme ice armor). It has a significant psi hole, which makes it less preferable to the positional defense sets like SR and SD. Now, EA isn't a terrible set, but I have yet to be satisfied with any EA build I've done. I've wanted to like EA, but I just can't.

    What it needs is a way to fix that psi hole and a better power choice than conserve power. Energy Drain is plenty.
  21. Tonality
    I agree with the mentions of soul mastery.

    I'd slot your bread and butter attacks a little more than with just 4 kinetics. Try at least a 5th slot with a mako triple for a little better acc/end/rech.
  22. Tonality
    I suppose I did.


    I would also like to add one additional thing: A high level recipe that spans all three ranges can be changed into a low-level recipe, at the cost of crafting a high-level recipe. While this may be a little advangeous (LOTGs, Numis, Miracles), it would allow for players to build SK friendly builds a lot easier.
  23. Tonality
    Pick an AT, head to that board and see what people are talking about. With any luck, you'll find some builds.

    Welcome to the boards, and possibly the game!
  24. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlie765 View Post
    I tried HTML and it still didn't work. What's above is the best i could get.

    Charlie
    1) Try Long Forum Export->phpBB / Zeta Boards -> Fruit Salad
    2) Check export data chunk as well as data link, because errors have happened recently with those links.
    3) ???
    4) Profit!

    Finduilas is offering some solid advice.
  25. Tonality
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Finduilas View Post
    Nice build Tonality! Rave, you should definitely pay attention to his slotting; Tonality's build is much more functional at much lower cost.

    One thing that surprised me, though, was no Interrupt Reduction in Aid Self. I've found them invaluable, especially for resistance-based sets where the player is very likely to be hit. I'd recommend two Interrupt Reduction slots, though that may require to moving Aid Self to earlier in the build so you can add more slots.
    Thanks.

    Back when /elec didn't have a heal, I used Aid Self on both my SS/elec and my elec/elec. In order to successfully use Aid Self without interrupts (I try to slot as efficiently as possible), I had this process, which had about a 95% success rate while being at the aggro cap:

    1) Fire Lightning Rod/Footstomp - Knockdown everything you can
    2) Fire Powersink (EA's Energy Drain) - Forced drain animation on all enemies
    3) Aid Self

    Worked almost every time, and that was on a resistance set.

    With all that said, interrupts are nice for getting a heal through dmg over time, because the tics happen every second, which was the one situation where I couldn't heal.