TwilightPhoenix

The issue I see with boosting Defender damage overall is that the high performers could become ludicrous. For example, Rad/Sonic/Dark can boost it's damage through Accelerate Metabolism, Enervating Field, Aim, Soul Drain, and stacking -resistance, easily reaching non-built up/non-aim Blaster damage with just SOs. Kin/Sonic/Dark would, in theory since I haven't seen or played one, also be silly right now with Siphon Power, Fulcrum Shift, Aim, Soul Drain, and stacking -res. The problem is, however, the damage gap between combos like that are huge with something like, say Emp/Electric/Mind. The first two could make a Blaster cry for Defender nerfs while the latter could consistently be the lowest damage dealer on the team. Sure, the lower damage combos would love a damage boost, but you'd risk making the high damage combos overpowered.

Personally, what I'd do is set Corruptors at 100% buff/debuff values. Once we have those, put Defenders at 125% and Controllers at 75%. I'm not entirely sure where MMs are supposed to go, but I assume right with Controllers. Of course, that would be a major rebalance to all four ATs and may not work out as well as it does in my head.

Assault Rifle for Defenders or, alternatively, Force Fields for Corruptors.

Mid's doesn't help us Mac users who don't have access to Windows...

It depends on your power sets and slotting. A fully IOed out Brute, for example, will more than likely have many less endurance and damage issues than a SOed Brute. Or a DOed Brute. Or TOed Brute. And to say you never have issues with too much damage or endurance drain to force you to stop wouldn't be accurate, unless you're beating on stupid easy foes or always have a pocket support toon. And if we're counting support toons, well, the Scrapper will be coming out at full smoke with the limitless health and endurance and stay at full smoke the entire mission, whereas the Brute still has to build and fight for their damage.

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If you play with constant scrapperlock, your fury is always full anyways and you do just as much damage. Brutes pwn Scrappers.

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And then your health and/or endurance runs out and you have to hit rest...

Yeah, I'm not looking to make 'teh pwnzor' toon, just one good enough to have fun and hold its own, even if it is "gimp". Plus it's much more fun when you do win with the character that's considered gimp. If I was looking to go pure ownage, I'd definitly roll a new toon for PvP (and may do that sometime in the future once conceptitis wears off, if ever). Also... I'm crazy and tend to do things like use lolgimpcharacters.

Anyway, a few questions. First, about how much +HP can I slot for, counting accolades, before DR starts to slam me? Second, EM Pulse and Sirens Song. I have them on my current build, but I can't seem to use them effectively. Are they just gimpy PvP powers? And third, which secondary pools are best to get? I ask because there's five, maybe six, that promise they could be useful: Leaping for Super Jump and Acrobatics, Speed for Hasten and Super Speed, Fighting for Tough, Fitness for obvious reasons, and Stealth for Phase Shift. Would the Presence pool be useful for fighting other ranged toons, or do those powers not debuff range like Scrapper/Brute/Tank Taunt and Confront?

After looking through my toons, I've decided to go with a Rad/Sonic Defender for PvP whenever I feel like going after it. Yes, I am well aware that Defenders are hardly near the best, that Rad/ can easily be detoggled, and so on and so forth. I'm just the kind of guy who has to be different from the norm. I already have some experience with a SOed build I put together (which I can post for critiques/laughs if you want me to) and learned that I essentially just have to run from Controllers and Dominators while hunting down those with few, if any, mezzes (hello Fire/Regen Scrapper!) However, I don't have access to Mids since I'm on a Mac and can't run it and, additionally, I'm not sure what's best to build for set-wise when working on a PvP build. If anyone is willing to help, can I get either A) roughly 200 mil inf PvP build or, failing that, B) advice on what to slot and where for that kind of budget build. Sooner or later I may go for one of those fancy 2 bil inf builds, but right now I just want something more affordable that'll let me be a lot more competitive in the arena and zones. Luckily, I have a Miracle +Recovery collecting dust in Wents right now I can throw into the build as well without adding to the 200 mil budget.

Also, while I'm at it, which APP would be best to go for? Right now I have Power with Conserve Power, Temp Invuln, Power Build Up, and that risky-but-fun Total Focus, but I'm not sure it's the optimum. How good are the other three? They look more mezzy, which I welcome since I love to return detoggling favors, but don't have as much alternative utility. And Dark looks very iffy since it's melee centric and I suspect Oppressive Gloom may just outright suck, despite sounding fun for messing with melee toons in theory.

Ok, if it isn't obvious it works now. My avatar was smaller than 80x80, so my guess is it doesn't like non-square avatars. I'll need to remake it as a square then so it's not stretched.

I got it accepting whatever I put in for my signature now, though the trick now is to come up with a signature I want to use. However, it's still complaining about any attempts at using an avatar. I'm trying to use one I use on several other sites and it just won't take it. Here's the direct link Photobucket gives me and I use, there shouldn't be an issue with it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...oyoteAvvie.jpg

Scrappers are more like this, actually. Mentioning a couple of things brought up above.

<ul type="square">[*]1 - Damage is consistent regardless of how fast or slow you're moving and doesn't care what other players are doing (buffs and debuffs aside). Your damage won't suffer when you have to use Rest, you won't be competing with other Scrappers for Fury, and your damage growth doesn't suffer when someone hits the mob with a mass hold. You can pause to help allies, let someone else tank, and do so much more without having to worry about an orange bar going down.
[*]2 - Critical hits that sometimes do double damage, which on a Scrapper is very noticeable and can often be enough to take a Lt. out in one-shot with your heavier attacks. Without Build-up, Soul Drain, outside buffs and debuffs etc.
[*]3 - Higher damage mods on Soul Drain, which will make it more effective when a Scrapper uses it over a Brute or Tanker.
[*]4 - Conserve Power regardless of which secondary you use.
[*]5 - You can play at your own pace.
[*]6 - You get Quickness sooner, which lets you get a continuous attack chain sooner. The lack of AOE defense in exchange is a pain, but on the other hand, you're not expected to be holding the aggro.[/list]

I'm suddenly reminded of an odd instance along the lines of the topic. I was on my Scrapper doing the Sister Psyche TF. The team wanted to get it done as fast as possible for the badge and merits. I'm first to arrive at a glowie hunt mission. So, what do I do? Step in, pop a purple to bring my defenses back to the softcap as they were 25 levels higher, and run through to the glowie and grab it, completing the mission. The leader immediately complained about the mission getting completed just as she was reaching the door. I was confused quite a bit by that. If you're aiming for all out speed to the point where the only thing that mattered was the end reward for the TF, why are you complaining that you got taken closer to it that much faster? I could understand if she wanted the mission completion bonus (which she wouldn't have gotten without us standing around for several minutes anyway), but sheesh, that makes no sense. Meanwhile, everyone else was happy to be moving on.

I guess some players can't stand Scrappers far outperforming their expectations.

I'm not trying to change my password, I can do that on it's own and the boards accept it with no issue. The issue is it squawks for a new password when I try to change anything else. And if I do try change the password at the same time, then it complains I didn't do something right.

Having some forum issues. Whenever I go to edit my avatar, signature, and what not, I am unable to get it to accept them. When I try, the boards complain that I need to enter x characters for my password and what not. And if I do try to reset my password at the same time, I'll get a cryptic "It appears this was not submitted in proper form" error. Anyway I can get these dang boards to take my avatar and signature? I'm using a Mac with Safari if that matters.

Not sure I'll be able to make it, but I'll be there if I can.

Sounds like it'd be fun to team with some of the Scrappers in this topic. Just walk into the mission map, say "Go!", and watch as the Scrappers run off in their own directions and clear out the map in five minutes, including the AV.

But, if you're having issues with bad Scrappers running off and getting killed, just roll a Rad/ Defender with Recall Friend, Vengeance, and Fallout. I mean, who said reckless players aren't useful?

Personally, I dislike it when people tell me how to play my toon. They are not on my toon and don't know what works best. If I'm not doing something wrong, like herding a room up and bringing them over to the four Blasters using Rest, then I don't need to be told how to play my toon. Likewise, I do the same for others. When I lead a team, I don't order anyone about outside of critical situations where success demands it, aka 99% of the PvE content. I trust my teammates know what they're doing. And surprisingly, this tends to work really well. The only time I tell people "you're doing it wrong" is when they literally are doing it wrong, like doing nothing but using Healing Aura on auto. If you're not a detriment to the team, then you're fine with me.

Now, like any team player, I'll ask my teammate if they can do something, such as giving me this buff or taunting that mob, when I feel I or the team needs it. Naturally, this tends to work out and often is the only combat related chatter. And it can be surprising when everyone is suddenly listening to the psycho Scrapper who was rushing in ahead of everyone because the designated pace setter/leader/both is too busy bemoaning that we can't do it (and they're almost always wrong).

Regardless of what I'm playing, there's only two types of players who get on my nerves: bad players and players who can't adjust and adapt. If the squishy follows me in a bit too closely, they need to adapt and deal with their aggro. I play squishies who draw plenty of attention and sit in the middle of melee and do just fine without fancy IOs and what not, I'm sure that purpled Controller who complains the boss can two-shot him could too if he used his head.

That's actually quite an interesting idea, one that I'm surprised I didn't think of. I guess I know what proc I'll be buying for my Defender when I log on later today. Then I can really make many of those Blasters wet their pants! ...sometimes...

There's only two times when my team is recklessly endangered by my actions. 1) When they don't listen when I warn them about rushing in with me an they can't handle it and 2) When I'm on a support character and decide, for whatever reason, my team deserves to die. #2 doesn't count here and so far #1 hasn't wiped my teams. I've found that the real reckless danger to teams are Blasters who run ahead of the team, open with Fireball, and run back screaming in terror only to die behind the team and bring their new friends to us. Scrappers, at least the ones who aren't horrible, aren't putting the team at risk.

But, then again, your pugging mileage will vary.

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If I was team leader and you were running unnecessarily quickly into battle and putting the rest of the team to any kind of risk, I would give you three warnings before kicking you from the team.

I can almost guarantee that one or more other members of the party would then congratulation me on my patience in allowing you the opportunity to curb your impulsive behavior.

I know, because I have had to do this on more than one occasion.

If I wasn't leader, and I saw you repeatedly putting the team at risk. I would say something. If there wasn't a change, then I would simply quit the team and find/start another one.

Once you are on a team, it isn't just about you. You aren't solo. You are part of a team. Act like it.

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Usually I give some kind of warning to the rest of the team, such as "Don't follow the psycho Scrapper if you can't take hits" or something like that. Most of the team is usually close behind and happy that someone is taking the alphas. The only ones I'm generally at odds with are tanks, since they always seem to insist doing things their way. I've never actually been kicked or warned by a team leader for doing things the Scrapper way nor have I had anyone quit over it. In general, people like high performance toons.

Then again, I don't play on the lower IQ servers.

I love doing this. The only time I hold back is either if it'd wipe the team (I don't like showing off too much by taking out the spawn(s) that killed them) or if friends are asking me to wait. Remove those two and I'll be rushing in to kill everything, albeit I can't kill a mob as fast as some of you all since my main psycho Scrapper only has single-target attacks. But they aren't going to kill me. And yes, like the OP, I do this on all of my toons if the pacing is too slow, even if the character in question usually dies as a result. The only other times on other toons I don't rush in is if I need to use Rest or if I know I wouldn't succeed in doing anything before dropping.

And though she's not a Scrapper, one time on my Controller I woke a slow team up by using Wormhole to bring the mob to them. Of course, as horribly squishy as that toon is and the fact she had full aggro, she died, but so did the mob. It was, more or less, the opposite of a Scrapper moment. My Scrappers would have succeeded though.

Yeah, that's usually what I use PFF for right now, tanking for the scared/lazy tank or filling in if we don't have one to begin with. It's interesting to see a team that can't handle a mob if they get hit with the alpha do just fine with the same mob if they don't eat it (though usually those teams need to quit inviting players who are -4 and so to the enemies). I might take Provoke down the road when I need a filler power. Though that may be after I see if Defenders are getting any sort of gun so I'll know for sure if I'll be rerolling that toon.

I remember when I first started playing this game, I was used to non-MMOs and kept trying to evade attacks by running out of the way while the shots were in transit. Of course, when the boulders happily went through the building and into my head for a day or two, I finally dropped the habit, though I kept reminding myself it wasn't working to begin with.

I also used to think Aim was worthless because it only boosted accuracy. Of course, when I got a toon that could take it, I reread the description and saw it boosted damage too...

Interesting, but CCs tend to have prizes in the millions. Here we're looking at a prize of a scant 100k if a hundred people enter. On top of that, CCs are also generally free to enter. Make some adjustments to the numbers and you'll have my interest.

I was looking at the Presence pool and wondering what possible uses are there for the first two powers outside of letting Scrappers "scrank" more effectively and Masterminds draw aggro off their minions while in bodyguard mode. Then, it hit me: Provoke + Personal Force Field. Theoretically, a Forcefields Defender could taunt a mob and then immediately drop into PFF and just stand there and watch the mobs attack fruitlessly, letting teammates attack without risk (though there wasn't much risk to begin with if you're a FF Defender). Has anyone tried this before? I can't look into it's potential effectiveness myself at the moment and won't be able to for some time, but this sounds like a nifty way for FF to protect a team even more than it already does and tank better than the tank.

Personal experience with Broadswords and PvP...

Headsplitter, Disembowel, and Hack are your best attacks. Parry is nigh useless unless you're fighting toe to toe with little movement because the buff only lasts a few seconds and if the target is moving a lot, you loose an opportunity for a higher damage attack and the defense buff will go away before your next attack. Plus throw in diminishing returns and Parry won't help much. Confront, however, is worth considering since it debuffs the range on the target and can be used creatively to steal kills and such. Broadsword, however, does not have any type of mez, so you may want to use Darkness Mastery as your APP, as you can pick up both a hold and an immobilize (though the latter may not be worth going for) and all of its attacks have ToHit debuffs, which will stack with your defenses without DR kicking in. Of course, if you want to see Stalkers, you'll have to grab Tactics with that. Otherwise, either just let them run around all invisible or dip into Weapon for Targeting Drone (and Web Grenade while you're at it) or Body for Focused Accuracy.


Shields, I don't play, though I've heard they're not the best PvP set. Your damage for foes in range aura can be detoggled with a mez and Shield Charge is rather hard to aim and does less damage due to it being an AoE. I've seen a Scrapper miss with Shield Charge three times in a row. The time he did hit was at the start of a duel when the opponent was standing there.

Other notes, Tough/Weave will help a bit, especially since Tough is a resist all in PvP, though I'm not sure if Weave adds elusivity. Unfortunately you already have four pools, so you'd have to drop something to get into Fighting. I'd cut a couple of slots from Stamina. About the best performance you can get to it is 4-slotted with Performance Shifter, one of which being the proc. Move one of those slots to Hasten so it's up sooner. You may also want to pick up Super Speed to run with Super Jump, since that combo is the best way to get around in PvP.

Also, there's no softcap in PvP due to frequent to-hit buffs through build-up, Kismet +6% To Hit IO, and so forth. Higher defense is always better, though you'll hit the DR pretty hard. 45% PVE defense (the softcap by the way) translates into about 33% PVP defense. However, you do get elusivity to make up for it somewhat, which also helps prevent powers like Aim from ignoring your defenses.