test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
How to rebuild my former main?
clawsandeffect
Posts: 155 Arc User
Okay, as I've mentioned before, I'm a City of Heroes refugee who came here to get my superhero gaming fix.
It's not the same, but I'm trying really hard to enjoy CO for its own merits rather than just spend all my time pining for my old game.
I'm going to subscribe for a couple months pretty soon so I can play with the freeform power selection that intrigued me about CO in the first place, and what I want to know is: What would be the best bet for replicating my CoH main character's powers?
My main was a Claws/Regeneration Scrapper. The Claws part is pretty obviously going to be Fighting Claws, but how to replicate the Regeneration side of it? Can I just take Regeneration and Resurgence and roll with that? That actually sounds kind of nice, since I might actually get some real mitigation out of my build aside from just healing everything back.
Basically just trying to get a handle on how to build characters here. I was a build guru in CoH, and it's a little frustrating being a build-newb all over again.
Yes, I know I could probably make a stronger character with the options I have here. But, I don't really care. I just want Claws and Effect to live again.
Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can share.
It's not the same, but I'm trying really hard to enjoy CO for its own merits rather than just spend all my time pining for my old game.
I'm going to subscribe for a couple months pretty soon so I can play with the freeform power selection that intrigued me about CO in the first place, and what I want to know is: What would be the best bet for replicating my CoH main character's powers?
My main was a Claws/Regeneration Scrapper. The Claws part is pretty obviously going to be Fighting Claws, but how to replicate the Regeneration side of it? Can I just take Regeneration and Resurgence and roll with that? That actually sounds kind of nice, since I might actually get some real mitigation out of my build aside from just healing everything back.
Basically just trying to get a handle on how to build characters here. I was a build guru in CoH, and it's a little frustrating being a build-newb all over again.
Yes, I know I could probably make a stronger character with the options I have here. But, I don't really care. I just want Claws and Effect to live again.
Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can share.
Post edited by clawsandeffect on
0
Comments
Champions Online Wiki
Stat Scaling Guide
DPS Chart
Pretty much. Regeneration by itself trivializes most of the content. Masterful Dodge is always a nice addition, and feels like a bootleg Moment of Glory. I usually like to add a ranked-up block replacer on Regen characters. If you get into trouble, you can turtle behind your block while you regenerate.
Fighting Claws is a strong single-target set, but it lacks a claw-animation AoE attack. So if you want to bother more than one villain at a time, you'll have to choose something that doesn't involve forearm cutlery.
To start your mental gears turning, here's a quick template for a scrappy/tanky PvE Claws/Regen. There's plenty of room for revision and customization:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name: Claws and Effect (template)
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Strength (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Master
Level 6: Martial Focus
Level 9: Physical Conditioning
Level 12: Acrobat
Level 15: Relentless
Level 18: Impresario
Level 21: Quick Recovery
Powers:
Level 1: Hawk's Talons
Level 1: Viper's Fangs (Rank 2, Crippling Challenge)
Level 6: Thunderbolt Lunge (Nailed to the Ground)
Level 8: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Form of the Tempest
Level 14: Dragon's Claws (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Molecular Self-Assembly
Level 20: pick an AoE attack (and take it earlier if you prefer)
Level 23: pick a block replacer (Retaliation, Parry w/advantage, and Energy Shield w/advantage are all good choices)
Level 26: Resurgence (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 29: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 32: Masterful Dodge
Level 35:
Level 38:
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Acrobatics (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35:
Specializations:
Strength: Swole (2/3)
Strength: Physical Peak (3/3)
Strength: Brutality (2/2)
Strength: Juggernaut (3/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Upper Hand (2/3)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Warden Mastery (1/1)
In a typical fight, you'll Thunderbolt Lunge into battle, open with Viper's Fangs to build aggro and apply the Shredded debuff, then charge Dragon's Claws for (hopefully) enormous criticals.
It's also worth noting that Bestial Supernatural offers several attacks with a scratching animation, though you'd have to use the costume creator to add any hand accessories.
I've played around with the online Champion builder from Powerhouse, and have a few interesting ideas brewing already.
I'm thinking on taking Shuriken Throw and Throwing Blades as a Focus/Shockwave replacement, and perhaps Shuriken Storm as my PBAoE with the Strong Arm advantage that boosts damage from Strength instead of Ego.
I might also fit some Electric attacks in there as well. The beauty of having a character concept of a cyborg allows practically any power to be used without breaking theme. I also considered Wrist Blaster from the Power Armor set for my Energy Builder.
Having played the PnP version of Champions gives me a bit of an advantage over a lot of CoH vets in that I already have a good idea what the stats do. I'm actually considering making Constitution my primary super stat, because there are a couple abilities in that one that I like the sound of. So, it would go Con, Dex, Str for me.
Looking into a Dual Pistols/SR blapper as well. Some neat combinations possible.
This will let you activate an effect similar to regeneration (though not as powerful), and your toon will inflict much more damage.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
With DEX as a secondary, you could get Form of the Tempest and get stacks of Focus whenever you crit (which, with a high DEX, you would do a lot) and then you could use a Dragon claw attack to give yourself the Rush buff.
As far as energy unlocks, barring special cases like thermal reverb if you have a ton of fire powers, etc the most common are Molecular Self Assembly (requiring lots of fast-recharge powers) or Overdrive (maintained powers). Unfortunately, most of the melee attacks are neither maintained nor on recharges so you have to rely on secondary powers like Bountiful Chi Resurgence or Conviction or some other fast-recharge power. Note that your LUNGE can also trigger MSA and may be enough if you use it a lot.
For Overdrive (under power armor) you'd need maintained attacks like, I think, Shuriken Storm... since maintained attacks are not likely to be your MAIN attacks (judging by what I've seen) Overdrive may not suit the character as well as MSA.
Resurgence has such a long recharge time, I'd be inclined to use Bountiful Chi Resurgence and/or Conviction and/or Biotic Shielding to give a little extra oomph when Regen faces trouble.
You could also always get Inertial Damping Field (swapping Builds if you normally use Form of the Tempest, eg) to provide a bit of protection if Regen is hard-pressed.
Are Bestial-type/fingertip claws completely off the table? I think I remember CoH claws being specifically the forearm-mounted/Wolverine-type, but it's been a long time for me.
Endorphin Rush on Enrage coupled with a few spec options could mimic low-level regen while still leaving you open for an offensive passive, if you wanted to go that route.
I mention Enrage specifically because Massacre does wonderful things with it. And fingertip claws gives you a nice thematic AoE in Frenzy.
Then again, part-cyborg, so pretty much anything you want to use could be conceivably built in for AoE purposes.
Con/Dex/Int is nice and tanky while also able to be built for pretty respectable damage, and you can use all the wonderful MSA synergy on short-cooldown stuff (Lunges, Thunderclap, Conviction, stuff like that).
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
_______________________________
The user formerly known as Dr. Sage.
_______________________________
It also depends on your play style. Bestial lends itself to Enrage, where as Martial Arts lends itself to Form.
In any case, you can definitely make a great Claws/Regen build, no matter which you choose. Be aware that for spike damage in late game, Regen underperforms. Of course, you have to take the damage before regenerating it, so if you get one-shotted, then there's nothing left of you to regen.
SIGNATURE:
Used to be coach on the forums. Still @coach in game.
His arms are cybernetic from the shoulders down, and his legs are cybernetic from just above the knees down (original travel power was superjump).
I'm going with (I think) Throwing Blades and Shuriken Storm for AoE. And I might go with an Electric AoE of some kind as well.
I'm actually considering Electric Shield for my Block replacer. The lower physical damage resistance shouldn't hurt me too much, and the AoE effect w/advantage will be nice. It will let me still deal a little damage while I'm turtled up.
Now that I'm starting to understand how the stuff works a little better, I should be able to run with it pretty good from here.
Carrionbaggage was on the money as far as my CoH build skill was concerned. I'm nowhere near arrogant enough to think I was the best at it, but I was among the better ones where melee builds were concerned (I sucked at ranged or support characters though). I'm also nowhere near arrogant enough to claim I got that good all on my own. I learned a great deal of what I knew from a whole lot of other people, I'd give them all the credit they deserve, but it would be way too long of a list to post.
Thanks for the advice here. When I'm awesome at building characters later, I will owe a great deal of it to you guys :biggrin:
It's not exactly the same, but it's similar enough that the strengths and weaknesses of it are pretty parallel between the 2 games.
Shuriken Storm looks...kinda goofy, with the spinning and whatnot. Mechanically, it's not bad, but Throwing Blades is a lot better for general use cases.
If you're going the MSA route, I'd suggest Thunderclap (from Might). You slam your hands together and create a melee-range shockwave that stuns enemies. It procs MSA, and looks like it could be generated by the cybernetic arms, maybe. I use it on my Telekinetic.
I'm suggesting that over Shuriken Storm because Shuriken Storm will mostly overlap in use with Throwing Blades, and be generally worse. Whereas Thunderclap has a distinct use, and you can just hit it on cooldown to help keep energy flowing for clawing things. Unless you really like the animation of Shuriken Storm, of course.
If you want a shield for turtling, and it fits thematically (mini singularity generator in the arm, maybe?), Ebon Void (from Darkness) with its one-point advantage is awesome. Stacking resist buff and a very minor self heal.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
_______________________________
The user formerly known as Dr. Sage.
_______________________________
Thematic idea: Claws and Effect escaped the cataclysmic destruction of his home dimension (caused by Nemesis of course), but the dimensional shift caused the energy generators that created his claws to malfunction.
The nanites that fueled his regeneration still functioned just fine, but he needed a new means of offensive ability. So he got himself a pair of pistols and hit the streets in his new home with a new identity: Retaliation. (The name isn't set in stone, I might change it if I think of something better)
The idea is for him to take damage, and to heal it back while it makes him hit harder and replenishes his energy.
Something like this:
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Name:
Archetype: Freeform
Super Stats:
Level 6: Constitution (Primary)
Level 10: Dexterity (Secondary)
Level 15: Ego (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: Quick Trigger
Level 6: Agile
Level 9: Indomitable
Level 12: Enduring
Level 15: Shooter
Level 18: Sniper Training
Level 21: Ascetic
Powers:
Level 1: Gunslinger (Rank 2, Trick Shot)
Level 1: Two-Gun Mojo (Rank 2, Close the Gap)
Level 6: Bullet Beatdown (Not Without Incident)
Level 8: Concentration (Rank 2)
Level 11: Regeneration (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 14: Breakaway Shot (Rank 2)
Level 17: Lead Tempest (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Reconstruction Circuits (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Killer Instinct
Level 26: Holdout Shot (Stim Pack)
Level 29: Lock N Load
Level 32: Energy Shield
Level 35: Orbital Cannon (Rank 2, Anvil of Dawn)
Level 38: Strafing Run (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Superjump
Level 35:
Specializations:
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Tough (2/3)
Constitution: Quick Healing (3/3)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Guardian: Make It Count (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Tenacious (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (3/3)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Initiative (2/2)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)
I think Concentration builds stacks on attacks over 25' away which won't generally be the case for this style of gunplay; with DEX secondary superstat you might be better off with Form of the Tempest, as you'll be critting often...
Trick Shot is, it seems to me, a fairly useless advantage. Doesn't it require Fear on foes to be of use? Or maybe it just is ~more~ useful with a feared target. I also wouldn't get Rank 2 on a Form of any kind --- they often build and maintain fast enough on their own, and in any event the advantage points are usually better spent elsewhere.
It'll cut your AoE damage a bit, but if you get Tread Softly with the Lead Tempest, and some Dodge gear, you could use that as a means of protection, giving Regeneration more time to heal you in dangerous situations.
Need to rearrange things a bit to fit it in early enough, but I had already considered that.
Negative. Concentration will build stacks when I maintain Two-Gun Mojo for at least half its duration, and it is useful for bonus effects on a lot of my powers. Range doesn't seem to be a factor at all.
The Fear just doubles the damage of the extra target. I have a 100% chance to hit an additional target within 12 feet if I'm Concentrated.
This is where my inexperience is showing. I haven't used any Frm powers enough to know if it is worth it or not. I'll make a final decision once I play with it a bit.
That's the thing though: I don't want to avoid damage. I want to take the damage and heal it back. With the way my build is set up I have 2 direct heal powers (Reconstructing Circuits, Holdout Shot), and 2 conditional heals from Specializations (heal when any attack crits and heal upon defeating an enemy, both of which will be very common occurrences). Fuel My Fire converts damage taken into energy gain, and I have something else that boosts my offense when I take damage. I took Energy Shield to turtle behind when I get in trouble, otherwise I want to eat that damage to keep my energy and offense up.
I'm also thinking about taking Revive in place of one of the last two powers. I'm gonna drop sooner or later, and it'd be nice to be able to get right back up. Kind of in character for this guy. He's absolutely relentless, and even if you put him down....good luck keeping him down.
Thanks for the advice though. I'll take it into consideration when I revise my plan.
Using the Concentration Form you can build the stacks like that:
"Grants a stack of Concentration for:
- Every Rank of this Power
- If you charge a ranged power at least half
- Maintain a ranged power at least 4 ticks
- Strike a target from at least 25 feet away"
Two-Gun Mojo is kinda same thing also an exception, a ranged power same applies, it also has it own buff that just get one stack of Concentration on its own, if maintained, of course.
But I think you won't get both stack at the same time, because it has few seconds to be able to apply another stack in any Form, like 3 or 4 seconds.
You can see the difference if you ever played with a Specialist AT, that have a Form of Tempest (that stacks with criticals) and have Two-Gun Mojo (an attack power that buffs one stack of Concentration).
EDIT: Oh right, also on the Reconstruction Circuit, i kinda limits your attacks, be cause it works better with Power Armor powers.
"You can't read my mind, because i can't spell it."
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
@ZetBuster
Bullet Beatdown: Keep in mind that two of the four attacks are melee, which won't benefit from your EGO bonus and will only receive half of Concentration's total bonus. It also doesn't proc Concentration...though it does look awfully stylish.
Lock N Load: If you're choosing one Active Offense, I recommend Ego Surge w/advantage. The advantage (Nimble Mind) scales with CON to give you an absurd critical rate for its duration - much higher than Lock N Load's bonus.
Reconstruction Circuits: As zerojad mentioned, it's tough to use in the heat of combat. It locks out your non-Power-Armor powers while it's active, and once deactivated it takes a moment for your powers to unlock. You can block while using it, though, so it does have some use for a turtling Regen character...if you don't mind its limitations.
Superjump is difficult to maneuver mid-combat. If you really want it, I would recommend taking it as your second travel power. Acrobatics/Athletics (rank 3) is a solid all-around first travel power, and should fit your cyborg theme.
I would adjust the Spec trees to look like this:
Constitution: Fuel My Fire (3/3)
Constitution: Tough (1/3)
Constitution: Resilient (2/2)
Constitution: Adrenaline Rush (2/2)
Constitution: Armored (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: The Rush of Battle (2/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Mastery: Constitution Mastery (1/1)
CON Tree Notes:
Knocks are a real pain to just about everyone, and Resilient is one of the few means to acquire some knock resistance. You'll still get tossed around sometimes, but not as often. Quick Healing grants an almost meaningless amount of health regeneration. Armored is a useful Defense boost once you get some end-game gear. That lone point in Tough can be put anywhere.
Guardian Tree Notes:
Make It Count wouldn't do anything for your build. You aren't using any Blast attacks. The Best Defense is a fantastic way to boost your Offense, and creates an Offense/Defense loop with Vindicator's Aggressive Stance. I wouldn't recommend Tenacious compared to your other options.
Vindicator Tree Notes:
Aggressive Stance completes the loop with The Best Defense, for a large gain in Offense/Defense. Initiative isn't a terrible power if you routinely use your Energy Builder, but I think you'll get more mileage out of other choices.
Now, you may or may not want to hear this, but Masterful Dodge will do much more for your build's survivability than either of your secondary heals. Your call. Most content wont push the limits of what you have there, but sometimes the ability to reduce incoming damage so that your regen can get caught up is a nice option.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
My inexperience is showing here. Since I've never used the majority of these powers, I'm going by how they look on paper.
I'm not even a Gold member yet (have to wait until my next pay day to fit it into the budget), but your advice is helping me avoid completely gimping my first freeform character.
I'm playing an Unleashed right now as a Silver player. It's pretty fun, but low level survivability issues are annoying.
Really not liking Champions' AT system setup. Don't like having powers chosen for me when I level up. An option of a few different powers at a given level would be nice, even if it was only a couple choices.
As a self-heal, I do find it does what it's meant to do fairly well, especially when used on a Power Armor set based toon. But I'll warn you that it's a toggle power, hit it to turn it on, hit it to turn it off. Blocking will not automatically turn it off, unlike other PA powers. It also will lock out any non-PA slot power until it is off.
If that doesn't sit well with you, there are two other good options for self-HoT powers:
Bountiful Chi Resurgence from the Martial Arts set - It's a wonderful "tap and forget" HoT. If you have decent Dodge, it's advantage is well worth it (extra healing each time you dodge). Downside is you shave off 10% of your damage while it's in effect. It also might not be visually in theme, as it has a slight mystical martial arts feel.
Bionic Shielding from the Gadgeteering set - The next 5 attacks on you will trigger this power to heal you when you apply it (you can also apply it on friends). Downside is that afterward, you cannot apply it again for 15 seconds. Visually, this would probably be very in theme.
Another I would have said here you already have. Holdout Shot with it's advantage is a great self heal. Try to slot some Gamblers Gems in your Offense gear so you have a good crit rate, because if you crit with the attack, it's HoT will also be crit healing.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Yeah, like I said, this is where my inexperience is showing.
I didn't realize from the power descriptions that Reconstructing Circuits locked me out of using any other power while it was active. I also didn't notice the bit on Concentration that requires me to be more than 25 feet away.
Bionic Shielding is probably going to be my alternative option. I'm going to get plenty of healing from Adrenaline Rush and The Rush of Battle, I just want something for when I get in over my head. I'm alos probably going to go with Form of the Tempest as several people suggested.
The concept is: Claws and Effect is a cyborg whose regenerative ability comes from nanites that are programmed to repair any damage to organic or mineral material as soon as it happens (meaning they will repair flesh and cybernetics equally well). The downside is they will repair damage only to the state it was in when they were first introduced. That's why he's a cyborg, he lost his limbs in a lab explosion and the nanites weren't introduced until after they'd been replaced with cybernetics. The nanites can't grow him new arms because they don't know he should have them.
As far as concept goes, Medical Nanites would be perfect for it, but Regeneration has the same end result and works better.
I'm a bit of an odd min/maxer. I'll min/max as much as I possibly can, but only within the boundaries dictated by my character concept. Concept is very important to me, and I won't take a power that doesn't fit it just because it's more powerful than something that does. Regeneration vs. Medical Nanites are a minor exception to that, but the same end result is achieved, so I don't feel like I'm violating my concept by using Regeneration instead.
I think that you might look at Resurgence for your additional healing needs. It is an active defense, so it locks out any other active defenses for 30 seconds. But it is a big burst heal and it supercharges your Regeneration. If you think you have enough maintenance healing with Adrenaline Rush and Rush of Battle to overcome standard threats, then maybe all you really need is an ohsh!t power. It would fit well within your concept, too, I think.
SIGNATURE:
Used to be coach on the forums. Still @coach in game.