Ultimus

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just curious... how come you dedicate so much time to showing a video game forum how well you do with the game set on one of the easiest modes? I'm not talking about the difficulty slider, I mean the AT's and powersets you choose to do this with. You took the easiest route possible. In all honesty, all you're really accomplishing is doing what others have been doing for years and sensationalizing it. At the end of the day, grabbing a FotM toon and doing something that's not very challenging for it isn't very impressive or even noteworthy. I view it somewhat akin to pulling open the cheat console on a single player FPS and typing /godmode and then loudly brandishing your win.

I think your biggest accomplishment so far hasn't been solo-ing AV's. It's been marketing yourself. In that regard, I'll offer you credit and say good job.

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Because they are the classes I enjoy? I have fun with it? I've always played the Tank in MMORPGs (and yes Mastermind classifies as a tank at least mine does). Robotics was a natural selection since my pets heal each other and are the most tank of the bunch. Traps I've always liked it is just a fun set to me.

The "cloth" archetypes just do not appeal to me. Corruptors, Dominators, Defenders, Stalkers, etc. I cannot help the fact the game sees them as weaker or more support wise.

What is fun for me is pushing the game to extreme limits. I try and answer the question:

"As a solo character, what can I accomplish? What is the most powerful character and what is its limits?"

This is fun for me, is finding those limits.

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Scrappers cannot do it due to their DPS. The best Scrapper builds top off at around 160 DPS also due to animation limitations. This also factors in criticals. This is another reason why people say sets like SS/SM/EM are overpowered because it allows tankers to meet the standards of Scrappers.

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I cannot find the many threads, but I believe Catwhoorg would beg to differ. He has soloed most of the game's AVs and the weakened Hami from the LGTF.

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Like I said, I know completely min/max and IO'd out a lot of the Scrapper builds were:

Claws: 120 DPS
Broadsword and Katana: around 110 DPS
Spines: 100 DPS
MA: 130 DPS I think
Dual Blades: Unknown (Done before it)

Dark Melee (Which is the highest) was around 160 I believe. Now if he's doing it then probably 160 DPS is enough to overcome their regeneration. However, I know in a thread comparing to max Tanker DPS versus Scrapper Tankers could get equal or better to the best IO'd out Scrapper build for DPS.

Two more to add to the list:

Lights out for Luminary!

Time to turn her into scrap metal

I didn't know I could make robots puke!

Trapped in my web

And now she's been smashed

Nice exp she gives

Infernal belongs back in Blizzard

Infernal will meet my MagiTek creations

His demons were no match for me

Look! Infernal Pukes Fire! *NOTE: Not really just puked while doing fire breath animation

Lasers fly everywhere!

Flames expell from Infernal's dying body

And finally he cools down

Oh and I saw someone was asking how I do it: Well it comes down to a few things:

1) Mastermind's single target DPS is EXTREMELY high. A Mastermind's DPS is a combination of 3 things:

A) Pets

B) -Resistance

C) Mastermind damage.

I use hasten and I am building IO rechargers to try and max out recharge. My mastermind in itself is probably around 70-80 maybe even 100 DPS with just spamming Veteran attacks. My pets probably deal around 120-140 DPS maybe higher (Cause of burn) and then I hold opponents in place with web grenade.

On top of that, I will soon have trip mines for more DPS and my Poison trap has 2 procs in it that can go off 4 times each 10 seconds. (Poison has two holds) That is also effected by the -Res.

My -Res can also be stacked due to Acid Mortar being two seperate entities so that is -40% resistance and if I had the -Res Proc IO that'd be -80% resistance. (I have it but it isn't slotted cause I hate that it debuffs me)

Finally, I use Caltrops for some small DPS (Maybe 5 DPS) and I plan on loading them with proc IO's too once I get more slots.

All in all, I am probably dealing around 350-400 DPS total with -Res factored in to AV's. I don't even need the -Regen it is just icing on the cake.

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Just as a note, I'm sure that there ARE Defender and Tanker builds that CAN solo many AVs without the use of inspirations. And a lot more with the reasonably fair caveat that the Defender may use Break Frees (only) since unlike MMs, Scrappers, and Tankers, they don't have both offense and status protection available.

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I still think it is build and AV specific. I looked over the Tanker forums and found no mention of soloing AVs. (Didn't even try the Defender forums.) Both suffer from the same problem: lack of enough sustained damage to overcome AV's defenses/resistances and regen. Certain Defender combinations can overcome both defenses/resistances and regen with debuffs, but I don't think they do so in sufficient fashion to bring the AV down. I've heard of lots of Defender duos taking down AVs, but never doing them solo.

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Any Fire/x Tank who takes either the Ice or the Fire epic pools can Immob an AV in their Burn patch, for starters. With IO set bonuses you can get a Burn patch down permanently, and you get Healing Flames up every 15 seconds or so for a huge heal. Perma-Burn will allow the Tank to trivially beat the AV's regen rate (easier if it's a Fire/SS tank so that Burn gets the Rage bonus). Granted, all that's assuming some nice IO bonuses, but that's a reasonable assumption when we're talking high-difficulty tasks.

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Are you sure that Burn alone can beat an AV's regen rates after accounting for defenses/resistances? Tankers can put out some mean damage but without debuffs a lot of that damage is going to be lost.

Also, can a single Immobilized from the epic pools really lock down an AV? That is a lot of loss damage if you are continually spamming the power, which is the only way it's going to work. Working on my experience with Web Grenade, which has the same magnitude and duration as the Fire epic Char, very few AVs are immobilized with less than three or four applications and that is with a fully slotted power.

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Oh, and a well-IO'd Ice Tank or SR Scrapper can have the AV permanently floored at their To-Hit floor.

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The problem is not survivability, the problem is sustained damage output. Even with a full Inspiration payload, I am not sure Defenders and Tankers, in general, are able to his solo a wide variety of AVs, but I'd also say that about most Scrapper combinations and quite a few Mastermind combinations.

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MMs are not alone. They're probably among the easier AV soloers, but they're not alone.

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I was never making the argument that Masterminds were alone, but of all the combinations that can consistently solo a range of AVs, I think that /Traps, /Poison, and /Dark create the most viable AV/Hero killer combos than any other AT. Again, I am talking about the ability to defeat a range of different AVs/Heroes, not any specific AV/Hero - Primary/Secondary combination.

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I want to chime in on this: You need 3 things to beat an AV:

1) Sustained DPS (Or enough -Regen to overcome the AV's regeneration)

2) Sustained Defense so you can tank the AV as long as necessary)

3) Some way of managing your endurance to sustain 1 and 2.

Tanker's problem is sustained DPS. Even fully IO'd out with Energy Melee they top out at around 160 DPS. I am not sure how much AV's regenerate per second but for most AV's 160 DPS will not out damage their regeneration. My EM/Elec Brute that soloed most of the AV's (The thread is in the Brute forum) did around 300 DPS I believe and some of the fights lasted quite a while still.

If any Tankers could do it, EM would do it but even then due to resists they will run into problems.

Scrappers cannot do it due to their DPS. The best Scrapper builds top off at around 160 DPS also due to animation limitations. This also factors in criticals. This is another reason why people say sets like SS/SM/EM are overpowered because it allows tankers to meet the standards of Scrappers.

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Why aren't you interested in a TF!!! :P

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Probably because:

1) The person gave no details as to what TF it was.

2) There is no TFs in the 30-34 level range in COV outside of the respec one.

I thought it did:

Click here

NOTE: NO SHIVANS OR NUKES USED

NOTE: Keep checking this thread for updates, I will be editing this post and making posts in the thread.

So for the longest time I've been searching for the true TankMage of this game. The character that can do it all and then some. Personally, I think I've found one of them:

Robotics/Traps Mastermind -- Quite possibly one of the most powerful characters I've ever played. (And I have a level 50 Ill/Rad Controller...)

TankMage -- By my definition, is a character that can not only tank but deal damage like a mage. (The high DPS class classes) Several COH/COV classes can fit this description so I will expand it: A Character that can not only deal damage, but can buff, debuff, deal damage, tank, create pets, deal tremendous AOE damage, control, deal single target damage and have no holes or weaknesses. Jack of all trades, master of all (Even deal damage with the Mastermind via Veteran Attacks. more on this later). This probably comes no surprise to Mastermind players; however, I want to show those that don't know the REAL POWER BEHIND MASTERMINDS!

Silver Mantis meets the exterminator
And here's my first opponent

My powers of the dark allow me to move at amazing speeds

Poison Traps lay everywhere

The toxin overwhelms her

One of her blasts send me flying back but my henchmen protect me

And with my staff, I will rip her soul from her body

And she falls lifeless to the ground.

Love the experience

Barracuda swims with the fishes

It is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel

Lasers pierce her body

Poison gas can make you puke as the Freakshow guy found out

Bodyguard protects me from most harm

And Barracuda becomes sushi

Calystix becomes fishSTIX

Another fish to fry?

I booby trapped the area... so watch your set!

Tons of enemies become aggroed.

The fight becomes more intense as more enemies are created

My minions begin to fall and I battle Calystix in a last ditch effort

Reinforcements arrive and I pull out my staff to claim what it is mine

In a shocking blast I defeat Calystix

Aurora Borealis won't be shining much longer

A weak psionic opponent lies in front of me

The poison makes her pull a George Bush

A well timed punch knocks the wind out of her

The world will soon fall under me

The Assassination of President Marchand

A power suit won't protect this old man

Can his suit protect against my MagiTek?

*EXECUTING ATTACK ORDER ON PRESIDENT MARCHAND* (Robotic Voice)

But his term wasn't up! Well he's been impeached...

Hi Nosferatu I've brought some garlic...

The vampyr lord himself

Now kids, don't play with fire or you will look like Nosferatu.

Smashed by Photon Grenade

Burn BABY burn!

*Enter Street Fighter Ryu or Ken line here* Doesn't it look like that uppercut?

Burkholder gets put on hold

***NOTE: Nosferatu assists you in this fight and you get a lot of ambushes... it is fun***

I wish I could leave him as a Fifth, in fact, I want to join the 5th

Hillarious screenshot, STOP DROP AND ROLL! YOU'RE ON FIRE! Love Nosferatu chasing him too

Another corpse to the collection

Ultimus beats THREE AV's at once!

NOTE: I forgot to turn my UI on in this one. It was one hell of a fight and there were enemies everywhere. You do get two allies in this fight. You can also single pull the AV's but I chose to have a GIGANTIC free for all in the center (With spawning 5th columnists) with 3 AV's running around and my two NPC allies.

I beat these guys so bad they joined me!

The leader of the 5th

I felt so bad taking him down, the 5th are the coolest bad guys

Mynx gets declawed

DYING as you burn!

The kitty is all tangled up!

Such a weak opponent

Time to cut those claws off

Backalley Brawler and his AOE Energy Melee

He hits hard but luckily I have the one shot rule...

At least he isn't energy resistant...

Because look at my combat log... smashing and lethal deal no damage to him

Plasma burns are hard to heal..

Backalley is the last today... more to come keep checking this thread.

Two more to add to the list:

Lights out for Luminary!

Time to turn her into scrap metal

I didn't know I could make robots puke!

Trapped in my web

And now she's been smashed

Nice exp she gives

Infernal belongs back in Blizzard

Infernal will meet my MagiTek creations

His demons were no match for me

Look! Infernal Pukes Fire! *NOTE: Not really just puked while doing fire breath animation

Lasers fly everywhere!

Flames expell from Infernal's dying body

And finally he cools down

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Everyone makes a bio, but you created something a little bit more, and even posted a thread about it. Yeah, I call that a little sick

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Read his post here!

Interesting, roleplaying is one of my favorite aspects of this game. I love creating biographies and backgrounds for my characters. Yet there is people like this? I am sad people cannot use their imaginations.

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Just placing these here since the post I was typing was erased cause my browser closed! *SMASHES THINGS*

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Can you explain the build/strat like you usually do with other AVs? I'm genuinely curious as I want to be able to do this sort of thing with my DB/WP eventually. Can you do this au natural? No temps/pets?

The reason this is more impressive to me is youre exemp'd to 24 and I cant imagine soloing a AV that low lol.

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Yeah I was making a rather large post describing each and every build to soloing AV's but my stupid browser closed and it was gone. I will maybe type it back up tomorrow.

Just placing these here since the post I was typing was erased cause my browser closed! *SMASHES THINGS*

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*Evil Laugh*

First the forums.

Then the Developer Digest.

Then the WORLD!

*Rubs hands*

Third post by Back Alley Brawler.

And now with the accolade changes I can spend more time with my evil deeds.

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not at all, FTmomo..

did you read the part about using only animations/powers/etc. that are already in-game? there's nothing new to create as far as moves/powers/etc. goes.. just an interface that let's you "glue" them together.

i know a lot of people in this thread have posted ideas for their own that didn't follow the "only animations that are available already" rule, but the expression doesn't define the description.

also, don't forget that there are about to be 2 to 3 times as many devs, so "not enough devs" will be alleviated soon enough.

the hard part isn't what you can use, it's making the interface to put it all together.. and yes, that would take some clever problem-solving as well as a good amount of time to program. but who says it can't be done piece-meal? as in.. while working on issues, have a couple devs start piecing it together in the background until it was finished.

if they were to do this, i wouldn't expect to see it until at least issue 14, 15 or even later.

my best guess is that power customization would be harder, since they would have to rebake each an d every texture.. or rather un-bake. and i'm suer that idea isn't going to lose popularity because it's hard to do.


in short, it's completely feasible.. just not very soon.

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And thanks for clarifying for him, I was going to reply last night but I was so tired I figured I'd do it in the morning. Glad you got it first

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Best idea that I've heard in a long while. This needs to be stickied!

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Lol it is stickied and thanks

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More weapons with particle effects, IE, Valkyrie's Sword

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Reading Comprehension FTL

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Feel free to discuss suggestions and the process in this thread.

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More weapons with particle effects, IE, Valkyrie's Sword

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Vayliss - a big difference is that this uses a point system towards one signature power, while "the other game" uses points in a tree that basically, yes, is very similar in what they are used to gain.. but it's towards the character in whole instead of the one specific use of one power.

so, in a way, it is a more advanced talent point system.. but it's a different creature altogether with a much different end goal. what that system uses talent points for, we use enhancements and power trees for.

of course, another difference is being able to create your SigPow from scratch. choose animations/effects/powers, then use points to flesh that power out.


i hope that answers the question

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I couldn't have said it better

Also sign the one here guys in the beta forum Thanks!!

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You're blocking the shot!

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I know -- I couldn't move fast enough and then the Arachnos girl went down nearly instantly when like 15 Luddites Alphaed her.

Luddites vs the Arachnos above my right shoulder...

Yeah that was me that got those developer responses about accolades. However, Positron is the man that clearly has to give it the green light and understand how important this issue is to players.

I am cooking up something that should generate a response from him.

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Theory:

One of the reasons the devs seem to be ignoring this topic is because people are putting forth impossible ideas for their own signature powers, which is...slightly intimidating, as if it DOES get done, people will be awash with disappointment over "I can't make such-and-such?".

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I wouldn't consider it ignored considering it is a sticky.

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2 years old today!

Seems like it was just yesterday that I was rolling up my Robots/Force Field Mastermind on Virtue, then re-rolling him 4 hours later when I realized I spelled his name wrong.


Just to head this off at the pass, there is no Anniversary badge for CoV 2 years... we want to get to a point where we only celebrate ONE anniversary a year, like normal folks.

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How about a Birthday badge? -- People celebrate multiple birthdays a year...

So did they say anything recent about this? Or in closed beta?

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See my above post.

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How recent did he say that? I find unfairness to be laughable because some (See 50's) never had the chance. I could understand if everyone could have the chance but some characters do not.