Wiggz
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Its only four-slotted. The idea is that the Ice/Shield is S/L rather than positional (like melee) and Kinetic Combat is the only melee set that gives you S/L defense to add to it. The more chances you have of slotting it the better.Originally Posted by B SIP
Well when said I was going with cold mastery I was planning to take hibernate. And with a blapper is it really that necessary to 6 slot brawl? -
Quote:It kind of depends on what you want to do. Some might tell you that the fighting pool is good, along with Combat Jumping to get your defense as high as possible, but ultimately to do that you're going to need to blow some money on Thunderstrike and Touch of Death sets which are not cheap. Whats nice is that you have room for a couple of Razzle Dazzle sets as well.Originally Posted by B SIP
Ya good point. So what power pools are necessary?
I went without a travel pool power, sticking to Swift, Hurdle and the Ninja Run expansion pack to handle my travel needs, along with things like Mission teleport, WW's teleport, Ouroboros Portal, etc. to get around. At the moment I have only Fitness and Fighting which has left me room and slots for all the goodies I want from this tight build. Stealth might be a good option, to get you close enough to use Sirens effectively, but keep in mind you'll eventually have Boost Range up often enough to extend Siren's range to a crazy 80'. Late game I so with Force Mastery for Temp Invul and Force of nature, but a very good argument can be made for Cold and its defensive shield. Just didn't fit me thematically. -
Quote:Night and Day, trust me. There's not a safer blapper - or blaster - out there. Blapping can be a nightmare solo until you load up on expensive sets - Sonic/Rad eases the pain considerably.Originally Posted by B SIP
I guess I will hit up the Mids then and see which one I like best because I already have a lvl 50 sonic/rad ruptor and that really didn't do it for me.
Keep in mind that your primary attacks are the melee ones... Sonic's benefit comes from its ability to stack stuns, put entire groups into a long lasting sleep and boost your damage output considerably through -Res. -
Quote:I would seriously reccomend you consider Sonic/Energy. Think about this:Originally Posted by B SIP
Awesome guys thanks.
I'm going to try and create a build that would be unique to the blapping community. So I might roll with that rad/elec. So now what set bonuses should I go for? I would guess plus hp, resistance and defense and plus recharge. No need for 45 kb protection sine I won't really pvp with it. And should I go with the power pools fitness, fighting, leaping, medicine? And the ancillary power pool ice , fire, or bubble?
You Siren an entire group into sleep, then step in and begin blapping them to death one at a time, opening each attack cycle with either Stun or Screech (or both if its a Boss). There's not a safer more effective blapper out there - especially solo.
Oh - and Sonic's -Res will maximize your damage output. Hit 'em hard, kill 'em fast. -
Quote:That's kind of what I figured. If that's going to be its only use, It doesn't even need to be slotted. Thanks.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
When you hit PBU any click powers (i.e. not autopowers or toggles) that you cast during that time will benefit from PBU for their entire duration. Autopowers and Toggles will benefit for the duration of PBU. Pets and pseudo pets will either not benefit at all or will benefit for the duration of PBU.
So using PBU and then your 4-minute shields will give the target power boosted shields for 4-minutes. Yum! -
Hi. I'm currently running a FF/Sonic defender and loving her. Basically how Power Build Up works in conjunction with shields will determine my choice of APP, so I'm looking for some kind of definitive answer. I've heard a number of things including that once you've applied a shield with PBU, it will stay boosted indefinitely as long as you consistently reapply the shield.
Can anyone give me the 411? -
Quote:Thank you very much for clarifying that.Originally Posted by Enyalios
Its really a $5 buy though since it comes with a free month. A bargain by costume pack standards. I assume it was so they could show how successful their mac launch was honestly.
And as to free month....its the next month. -
Quote:Does the 'free month' mean they don't charge you the following month, or does it mean that whenever you finally decide to stop playing the game down the road, you can keep playing for a month after you've deactivated your account?Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
I'm 93% sure that you buy the mac code, apply it to your account, get a free month tacked on and then you've ended up paying $5 for the Valkyrie costume pieces. No need to ever download the mac installer.
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Quote:Damn. That's harsh.Originally Posted by Black Orchid II
That is your only option, and it does work on a PC. It also comes with the Mission Transporter, which is full of rainbows and win.
Thanks. -
Okay, I have an existing PC version of the game and have had it for some time. I want the Valkyrie costume options. Is my only option to buy the MAC version of the game for $20 bucks? Will that even work on my PC?
I'd really like the costume set and I'd like to not have to pay as much for it as I did for the game itself - what can I do? -
Quote:That's kind of what I said in the quoted post.Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Your forcefielder can bubble the pet. Bubbling should put it at or very near the soft cap (depending on your build). My FF/Dark/Dark does multiple missions with out having to cast it more than the one time at the beginning of each mission.
I am going to guess that the RNG just hates you at the moment.
"Moreover, I could actually buff it and bring its defense theoretically right near the soft cap."
In fact, that's exactly what I said. I just don't see how greys could hit a soft-capped anything unless the thing itself has some kind of inherent -def. Its just been incredibly frustrating. -
Quote:I give up.Originally Posted by UberGuy
They never had a working attack. Their description said they buffed teammates, but they never did. They did banzai up into melee range against foes, which was pretty damn annoying if you were playing a ranged character. After a couple of false starts, the devs got them to basically ignore opponents so that they hover near you no matter what else is going on.
I'm not sure what threat multiplier they have, but if it's higher than your character and you haven't damaged a particular foe, that foe will prefer to attack the pet than you. I've always assumed that's what's going on, but have never tried to verify it. High threat modifiers are common on pets.
I just had it up on my FF/Sonic Defender, the one toon I was SURE it would be beneficial on - a ranged character who could use a touch of endurance to offset my toggles and a bit of defense to add to what I'm getting from Manuevers and Dispersion Bubble. Moreover, I could actually buff it and bring its defense theoretically right near the soft cap.
So I go hunting Tsoo solo for the 2nd costume mission - GREY Tsoo - and it gets killed three times before I manage the 20 I need. Ridiculous. -
Quote:Ditto this. A sample build would be nice to see as well...Originally Posted by kybarsfang
Can you direct me toward a build or a thread that helps explain Ill/Cold's super-awesomeness in more detail, please?
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...which gave me cause to revisit one of my all-time favorite characters - Bubblegum Pink, an anime inspired Force Field/Sonic Defender. And I must say, I just love her.
Keeping everyone on the team at the defensive soft-cap is sweet and being able to re-apply those buffs between fights actually lets me get my offender on. I only took the three single-target Sonic attacks (and the nuke) to aid in my survivability rather than risk Howl-induced aggro and I generally target through a tank, scrapper or blaster to maximize the benefits of all that -Res. I must say, between the sonic attacks and assault, I do just fine when it comes to adding to party damage, particularly vs. EB's and AV's.
Finally, taking Repulsion Bomb and Screech gives me all the additional control I could want as a side-hobby. Sometimes I even take the alpha when we don't have a tank, using PFF to get everyone's attention before the heavy-hitters or controllers come in. I love the niche she fits and I love her play-style.
Just sayin. -
Quote:I really don't do any of that. This is me as a blaster standing there killing stuff and watching a bad guy run past me to attack it or standing back and shooting at it rather than at me to kill it.Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Are you invisible or stealthed while it is not?
Are you kiting so that it follows you and then after you jump back it's ahead of you?
Do you pull around corners so that it winds up being in front of you?
If you do any of these things the mobs see the vet pet first and attack it first. All you have to do to pull aggro off of it is deal damage.
I don't have any trouble keeping it alive solo now but it did take some practice.
Complete pain in the *** to resummon it after every fight, and its not as if the teeny, tiny buff it gives is so significant that it's make or break for vets.
Why not just let it be what it is? I have no problem with AoE damage destroying it if it hits, but AI should NEVER make it a priority over a damage dealing character. -
Quote:That was initially my thought process - but then I came to the basic conclusion that no amount of buffing or debuffing was going to be more effective at 'defending' your teammates as either 1) killing the bad guys or 2) rendering them completely helpess, both of which Controllers generally do better particularly in the late game.Originally Posted by Mega_Jamie
Its bad to assume that all things are equal...because the numbers controllers output are lower, because their buff/debuff modifiers are lower than a defenders values.
The secondary comes into affect as well /sonic and /rad and maybe /dark on a defender all have a good degree of Force Manipulation. While blasting away may be lower damage than you blaster friend that has the same primary as your defender secondary. the Debuff numbers are bigger (read Better).
All of a controller (usually) Force Manipulation (in so far as damage outputted) comes form their secondary (Earth Control is exempt form this as its a -def heavy thing) but generally speaking.
Ill has some fun utility letting your take over as tank if needs be for a while (or perma if you can afford it).
I used to think trollers > Defender, until i saw the defence outputs a FF (one was one of my first characters, but before i was into the game maths/knew about the softcap) or Ice can reach and their overall debuff values, and started considering each character in terms of force manipulation individually, rather than as their AT as a whole.
I love my 3D defender and my FF/Sonic. I love my Kin/Rad and my Cold/Ice. But I've never played a defender who was near as effective in helping his team out as my current controllers seem able to do. -
Quote:Here's a tip: Read my post.Originally Posted by je_saist
Here's a tip: Stop playing your controller like a defender.
Start playing your controller like a controller.
If all you do on your controller is buff / debuff, you aren't going to have a different experience than playing a defender. A Controllers primary is, get this, CONTROL. Outside of Ice Blast and the Dark power sets, no defender set is going to allow you to mez the living daylights out of mobs.
Once you grasp what it is that controllers are for, and what they do, you won't be asking why teams want controllers.
I don't play my controllers like defenders. I play them like controllers. I've noticed - and noted in the OP - the remarkable effectiveness of control over being able to make relatively minor attacks, which is what prompted the question why would a team prefer a defender over a controller? Why trade Fantastic Control and almost fantastic buffs/debuffs for Fantastic buffs/debuffs and less than average damage?
This post is very pro-Controller and what it does, not some sort of defender manifesto as you seemed to have taken it. -
...which is why I'm posting in the Controller forum rather than the Defender forum.
My first characters were defenders and some are still among my favorites - the new color options have allowed 'Bubblegum Pink', a FF/Sonic to fulfill my manga festish quite admirably -but lately I've been sporadically leveling three different */Rad controllers (Ill/Rad, Earth/Rad and Plant/Rad) and have gotten all of them into the high 20's or low 30's and I from that experience I have to ask - why would a team EVER want a defender over a controller?
Now I'm assuming all things are equal, that the builds are adequately put together and the players behind the characters are adequately skilled... but when I think of the effectiveness of my old Rad defender compared to that of my current rad controllers, I can't imagine wanting to trade my ability to shut down entire groups of foes for a little 'pew pew'.
I'm sincere in wanting the perspective of other players - what REAL advatages does a defender - the penultimate 'team' toon - offer a team over a controller? -
Quote:Simple Hand Grenades certainly seems like a simple fix, it wouldn't violate the so-called 'cottage rule', wouldn't overpower the set or change its flavor and would certainly help with */Dev's relative lack of damage support.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
Well the problem with that (besides the fact that Blasters get Surveillance in an epic pool) is that it would violate the Cottage Rule. Time Bomb is bad, but I don't think it's bad enough to need a Cottage Rule violating change. There are quite a few options that stick with the basic formula of "a big boom" without violating the cottage rule. Quite a few people in the other thread were in favor of a remote detonation option but personally I'd like a power where you just throw a satchel charge (kinda like a short ranged version of LRM Rocket).
Although to be honest, Acid Mortar definitely seems like a better fit there, particularly for a set called 'Devices' as opposed to 'Traps'. Never happen of course, but still. -
Quote:See that's exactly what I was thinking - Siren's a group, lay down Time Bomb and then start Tazing/Screeching my way through baddies, seeing how many I could kill before the Time Bomb went off.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Yeah. It's a fun power, but the recharge is too long for it to be practical.
Siren's Song + Time Bomb works pretty good, but like I said, the long recharge makes it not quite worth taking.
It's pretty useless for anything but Sonic though, unless you go with Munitions and take Sleep Grenade.
But I'm not going to be on my knees for ten seconds just to set that up. My girlfriend will barely do that
The upside is it gives 52% defiance according to Mids - but is that from the beginning of the power or the end? Heh. If they cut its recharge down to say 240 at the most and made it 4 seconds interruptible like a snipe, I'd definitely consider it, but otherwise... meh.
Anyone know the comparative blast radius between Time Bomb and Trip Mine? -
Quote:I thought the suggestion that targeting drone grant a range bonus - maybe 20% - was ideal.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
You might want to check out this thread:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=223069
I believe the general consensus was:
1. Targeting Drone is ok
2. Cloaking Device is a glorified pool power and would be a good place to add some +dam
3. Time Bomb needs replacing with something useful
I was against Time Bomb before, but I recently noticed its 9 second cast time and 360 second recharge - has anyone EVER taken this power? -
...about the non-attacking veteran buff pets that can actually pull aggro away from my BLASTER?
I want to like it, to enjoy this heralded veteran reward and find a modicum of usefulness for it, but so far the only character I've had who has managed to have one survive a single encounter is my FF/Energy defender.
What a waste of something that really could have been nice. -
Quote:That all sounds pretty good to me. If Cloaking Device were upped on the magnitude ante, like Superior Invisibility, that would be nice. I still like the idea of a small constant damage bonus from Targeting Drone. Maybe Time Bomb could be placed with something cool and gadgety like Surveillance.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
You might want to check out this thread:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=223069
I believe the general consensus was:
1. Targeting Drone is ok
2. Cloaking Device is a glorified pool power and would be a good place to add some +dam
3. Time Bomb needs replacing with something useful -
Thanks for the suggestions.
I'm pretty comfortable using the ninja run as my base travel power - hence the Swift and Hurdle to aid in getting around - and Fly was thrown in as an afterthought. I've now replaced it with Smoke Grenade, figuring it would synergize with Cloaking Device well enough.
I made a few other changes based on your suggestions, specifically deslotting Hover, removing the damages from Caltrops and beefing up my mezzes a bit. I'm fairly certain Targeting Drone doesn't help the Trip Mine or the Gun Drone, hence the extra Accuracy in them respectively.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Secondary Power Set: Devices
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shriek -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Decim-Build%(42), EndRdx(42)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Scream -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), RechRdx(36), EndRdx(37)
Level 4: Howl -- Acc(A), Dmg(5), Dmg(5), Dmg(13), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(37)
Level 6: Caltrops -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(17), Posi-Dam%(46), ImpSwft-Dam%(46), JavVoll-Dam%(46)
Level 8: Shout -- Acc(A), Dmg(9), Dmg(9), Dmg(13), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(37)
Level 10: Targeting Drone -- EndRdx(A), ToHit(11), ToHit(11), ToHit(17)
Level 12: Hover -- Flight(A)
Level 14: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 18: Sirens Song -- Acc(A), Acc(19), Acc(19), Sleep(23), Range(23), Range(43)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(40)
Level 22: Cloaking Device -- EndRdx(A)
Level 24: Taser -- Acc(A), RechRdx(25), Dsrnt(25), Dsrnt(43)
Level 26: Screech -- Acc(A), RechRdx(27), Dsrnt(27), Dsrnt(43)
Level 28: Trip Mine -- Acc(A), Acc(29), Dmg(29), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), RechRdx(31)
Level 30: Amplify -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(34)
Level 32: Dreadful Wail -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Smoke Grenade -- Acc(A)
Level 38: Gun Drone -- Acc(A), Acc(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(42)
Level 44: Repulsion Bomb -- Acc(A), RechRdx(45), RechRdx(45), Dsrnt(45)
Level 47: Temp Invulnerability -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(48), ResDam(48), ResDam(48)
Level 49: Force of Nature -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(50), ResDam(50), ResDam(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Ninja Run -
Since you've got some experience - maybe a quick build critique? I built it pretty much with SO's only and a couple of procs since I'm just now starting out and money is a bit of an object.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Level 50 Technology Blaster
Primary Power Set: Sonic Attack
Secondary Power Set: Devices
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Ancillary Pool: Force Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Shriek -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Decim-Build%(42), EndRdx(42)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc(A)
Level 2: Scream -- Acc(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), RechRdx(36), EndRdx(37)
Level 4: Howl -- Acc(A), Dmg(5), Dmg(5), Dmg(13), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(37)
Level 6: Caltrops -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(17), ImpSwft-Dam%(43), Posi-Dam%(46), Dmg(46), Dmg(46)
Level 8: Shout -- Acc(A), Dmg(9), Dmg(9), Dmg(13), RechRdx(36), RechRdx(37)
Level 10: Targeting Drone -- EndRdx(A), ToHit(11), ToHit(11), ToHit(17)
Level 12: Hover -- EndRdx(A), Flight(43), Flight(43)
Level 14: Swift -- Flight(A)
Level 16: Hurdle -- Jump(A)
Level 18: Sirens Song -- Acc(A), Acc(19), Acc(19), Sleep(23), Range(23)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(21), EndMod(21), P'Shift-End%(40)
Level 22: Cloaking Device -- EndRdx(A)
Level 24: Taser -- Acc(A), RechRdx(25), Dsrnt(25)
Level 26: Screech -- Acc(A), RechRdx(27), Dsrnt(27)
Level 28: Trip Mine -- Acc(A), Acc(29), Dmg(29), Dmg(31), Dmg(31), RechRdx(31)
Level 30: Amplify -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(34)
Level 32: Dreadful Wail -- Acc(A), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), Dmg(33), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(34)
Level 35: Fly -- Flight(A)
Level 38: Gun Drone -- Acc(A), Acc(39), Dmg(39), Dmg(39), RechRdx(40), RechRdx(40)
Level 41: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(42)
Level 44: Repulsion Bomb -- Acc(A), RechRdx(45), RechRdx(45), Dsrnt(45)
Level 47: Temp Invulnerability -- EndRdx(A), ResDam(48), ResDam(48), ResDam(48)
Level 49: Force of Nature -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(50), ResDam(50), ResDam(50)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
Level 6: Ninja Run