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Looking for advice on first FF
netherny
Posts: 54 Arc User
Hi everyone! I'm finally preparing to try a FF toon and am still pretty new to this game. So far I've only tried couple of the Zen Store AT's.... and I like Scourge a lot.
However, Scourge isn't the most durable AT, and when overwhelmed, tends to go down fairly fast... unless you can make a fast getaway.
Anyway, I've been playing around with the Powerhouse character builder, and trying to come up with a character that has excellent all around capabilities. I just do
regular PvE missions, and want to totally faceroll everything. Otherwise, how can I really be a superhero?
In CoH / CoV I really got into playing a Mastermind. I like preparataion. I like passive stuff, not clicky stuff. This allows me to focus on tactics and using the right
offense at the right time.
Basically, I want this toon to be a walking AoE of death.
Now, don't flame me too hard, as I am certainly no expert on how the abilities of this game interact with one another, such as the "synergy" I keep hearing about. I have probably made some obvious mistakes. So, I knocked out an idea on the builder that might be okay....
http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=9&n=Alien%20Warrior%20FF&d=1372MPGhKijM070200CC101C703Q803Q6099C01DL04QB003E05DM05H501PB009N01KF050PR10FZ50Cx9
I put in a bleed and a toxic in that build, because being a DoT ***** is something I think would insure that the enemy will die no matter what. That's right, Wisdom and
treachery can be a power unto themselves. Maybe I should consider a combo of Gadgets and Fire if I want to stack DoTs? Nothing is set in stone yet. I mean, while I'm
daydreaming, might as well say... a super tough, nigh-invulnerable character that does decent damage, and even if he has to leave, the enemy is still going to die from a
DoT.
The things I would like to have are...
1. Fire DoT - just because I'm weird that way.
2. a melee (but it doesn't have to be melee) attack that starts a bleed, because it's irritating when mobs rush you, and payback is a you-know-what
3. Lightning reflexes because, well, I've read a lot on the forums about how great it is
4. Venemous Breath - to apply poison, and because prior experience has shown me that I like it
5. Invulnerability - because.... why not?
6. and 7. Because so many players confirm they are awesome
8. Force Detonation - Because it's super cool
The rest should be self explanatory... survivability and a distraction ploy. I imagine the fights would be a bit long, but if I play it right, I should be able to win.
Now, being a fair noob at this game, maybe my selections aren't optimum. Maybe I'm missing out on some synergies. Maybe I'm missing out on some AoE goodness with these power choices. I don't know, but that's why I thought I'd ask all of you more experienced players, and see what you all think.
After all, fifty bucks is a lot to shell out, and like I said, I want to just absolutely faceroll through the normal missions. Just stand there and watch stuff dissolve lol. So, any advice you guys can give me I will certainly think over.
Many thanks to all who reply
However, Scourge isn't the most durable AT, and when overwhelmed, tends to go down fairly fast... unless you can make a fast getaway.
Anyway, I've been playing around with the Powerhouse character builder, and trying to come up with a character that has excellent all around capabilities. I just do
regular PvE missions, and want to totally faceroll everything. Otherwise, how can I really be a superhero?
In CoH / CoV I really got into playing a Mastermind. I like preparataion. I like passive stuff, not clicky stuff. This allows me to focus on tactics and using the right
offense at the right time.
Basically, I want this toon to be a walking AoE of death.
Now, don't flame me too hard, as I am certainly no expert on how the abilities of this game interact with one another, such as the "synergy" I keep hearing about. I have probably made some obvious mistakes. So, I knocked out an idea on the builder that might be okay....
http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=9&n=Alien%20Warrior%20FF&d=1372MPGhKijM070200CC101C703Q803Q6099C01DL04QB003E05DM05H501PB009N01KF050PR10FZ50Cx9
I put in a bleed and a toxic in that build, because being a DoT ***** is something I think would insure that the enemy will die no matter what. That's right, Wisdom and
treachery can be a power unto themselves. Maybe I should consider a combo of Gadgets and Fire if I want to stack DoTs? Nothing is set in stone yet. I mean, while I'm
daydreaming, might as well say... a super tough, nigh-invulnerable character that does decent damage, and even if he has to leave, the enemy is still going to die from a
DoT.
The things I would like to have are...
1. Fire DoT - just because I'm weird that way.
2. a melee (but it doesn't have to be melee) attack that starts a bleed, because it's irritating when mobs rush you, and payback is a you-know-what
3. Lightning reflexes because, well, I've read a lot on the forums about how great it is
4. Venemous Breath - to apply poison, and because prior experience has shown me that I like it
5. Invulnerability - because.... why not?
6. and 7. Because so many players confirm they are awesome
8. Force Detonation - Because it's super cool
The rest should be self explanatory... survivability and a distraction ploy. I imagine the fights would be a bit long, but if I play it right, I should be able to win.
Now, being a fair noob at this game, maybe my selections aren't optimum. Maybe I'm missing out on some synergies. Maybe I'm missing out on some AoE goodness with these power choices. I don't know, but that's why I thought I'd ask all of you more experienced players, and see what you all think.
After all, fifty bucks is a lot to shell out, and like I said, I want to just absolutely faceroll through the normal missions. Just stand there and watch stuff dissolve lol. So, any advice you guys can give me I will certainly think over.
Many thanks to all who reply
Post edited by netherny on
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Comments
Secondly, you do realize that only one defensive passive can be used at one time? And that you have 4? You need to focus on the core concept of your character before you pick your passive; the passive is probably the most important power pick that you will make.
Third, decide whether you want to be primary melee, or ranged. Again, an essential consideration before you pick powers willy-nilly; the things (forms, stats, specs) that buff melee vs ranged vary a lot.
Since you like the scourge, I encourage you to pull it up on the Powerhouse, copy its powers, and add them to your freeform. Then decide - what powers do I like a lot? What powers am I not using? What powers do I not have, that I want?
In general, you want your builds to have the following (once you know the basics, then you can play around with the exceptions). Shamelessly copied from here:
Read the guide, and have fun building!
And thanks for the quick reply
Chernobyl is an example of what a well-built scourge could look like. I also have some infernal builds of my own; however, they are ... unconventional.
Yea, ATs offer a lot of hand holding. Not so with the freeform system.
PowerHouse (Link to this build)
Super Stats:
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Endurance (Secondary)
Level 15: Constitution (Secondary)
Talents:
Level 1: The Void
Level 6: Ascetic
Level 9: Boundless Reserves
Level 12: Daredevil
Level 15: Quick Recovery
Level 18: Wordly
Level 21: Amazing Stamina
Powers:
Level 1: Infernal Bolts
Level 1: Infernal Blast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Viper's Fangs (Rank 2, Spitting Cobra)
Level 8: Invulnerability (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Venomous Breath (Rank 2, Paralytic Bile, Infectious Bile)
Level 14: Aspect of the Infernal
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Flashfire
Level 23: Thermal Reverberation
Level 26: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 29: Ebon Void (Rank 2, Voracious Darkness)
Level 32: Pounce
Level 35: Force Detonation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
Travel Powers:
Level 6: Athletics (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 35: Earth Flight
Specializations:
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Warden: Fortified Gear (2/3)
Warden: Slaughter (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
Avenger: Ruthless (2/2)
Avenger: Round 'em Up (3/3)
Avenger: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Avenger: Preemptive Strike (2/3)
Mastery: Avenger Mastery (1/1)
Not the most practical build, and not one I'd recommend to starters.. but could def work as a lvl 40 buiild, and it looks interesting enough.
But yeah, there's simpler and more effective ways to build a Scourge-like FF. I'd actually recommend taking the base AT build, changing/altering a few of the powers to fit ur perfs, adding some more heals and defenses, and finding a better SS setup for it.
Tinkering w/ a decent AT's build is actually a pretty good way to start dipping in to FF building w/o going crazy (crazy = the build above).
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
The reason I was thinking about mixing fire and toxic was because (like most of the things I have been wrong about so far in this game) I was assuming that the DoTs would stack somehow? Like... you know, if something is already ,melting with toxic stuff AND on fire, it should melt even faster?
But yeah you're right. I looked at that Chernobyl build, and it's amazing. BUT.... it just needs one or two little touches to fit my personality. (And BTW, I never use Locust Swarm / Crippling Coils, so that's one slot right there) If DoTs don't really make that much of a difference then might as well bring in some major explosive force!!!
I started looking at the Force powerset, and noticed that there is a power in there where you get a personal force field. Now THAT'S something like I would do, and fits my personality. Every time I've ever watched Young Justice, or Dragonball or whatever, and fantasized that I could be there and help them out, I always wished I could just grab the bad guy in a powerful force bubble that he can't break out of. And if they try to attack me, one of two things... 1. They , discover that I too have a force field OR
2. *****BOOOOOOM****** A nuclear level explosion occurs, vaporizing Darkseid or Frieza or whoever the bad guy du jour is.
So, I wonder if there's a way to modify that Chernobyl build, and add a bad-guy-trap-force-field, and maybe a You-Shouldn't-Have-Gone-There Nuke ?
And, I actually think the build you came up with is pretty good! And I usually just use Jet Pack and Teleport for travel and never rank them up. Since I solo all the time, I don't see why that would hurt anything. This toon is meant to be a bruiser... not in a big hurry to get anywhere. I might rank Jet Pack once though. I would rather hit a little harder than get there 3 seconds faster. Unless there's something I don't know about, like
"Oh well, you have to be THIS fast or.... you're gonna die and the world will end. And kittens will cry."
Yeah, I was looking around in the Powerhouse Builder thingy and noticed that some of the powers (usually listed last) say "You may only own 1 Ultimate Power".
"Ultimate Power?" Hmmm.
<_<
>_>
"Ultimate Power"? I kinda like the sound of that. And which power set has this Sonic Device? I'm sort of messing around with the PH builder right now.
Dang... I wish I could have lots of AoEs, AND DoTs flying everywhere. Looking at all those powers is like being a kid again, looking through the window of a toy store lol. I've pretty much decided, I'm in no hurry on this build, gonna take at least a couple weeks and really try to come up with something good.
EDIT: How about this? http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=9&n=Toxic%20FF%20Build%203&d=1534gNMibgjM070Q000Q609Q903QC05QH00J5037G00DL05DM00QI03JE01QG032A037D04115Y2jfD3V76
The reason I put Pyre and then Sonic Device is because I wanted an explosive PBAoE type power... and I figure, you charge it with Sonic Device first, then hit Pyre and it should hit everything around you pretty hard? Anyone ever try that combo? it looks like Pyre has a fairly good sized area too.
Ahh, but what do I know, I'm such a noob lol.
I see you also have venomous breath for theme, but infectious bile is actually a good CC advantage. In that case, I don't think it's redundant.
The rest actually looks pretty solid. Why don't you try it out in the PH?
On that build flowcyto created...
http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=9&n=&d=1583TNQXPWa63F0Q000Q203B1059C03Q60DQH00J5032C002800QG01K705P8003E03EI050ckt3SXU2swX
... is there anyway to replace the melee attacks with something ranged? (Viper's Fangs and Pounce), although I think I get why he put Ego Surge... sort of a power-up before letting loose with something big? I guess I could replace Pounce with Fire Snake, and Viper's Fangs with Devour Essence?
Oh and I have another question; The powers that say "Slotted", whether it's offensive or defensive, you can only take one of those, right? So, "Slotted" means it's like a staple power, a power that defines what the character is all about?
He said "Tinkering w/ a decent AT's build is actually a pretty good way to start dipping in to FF building w/o going crazy (crazy = the build above)."
Well, it's already pretty crazy, flying around King's Row, er, I mean Millennium City (heh) full of flaming toxic waste ready to explode lol.
And yeah, I do loves me some Venomous Breath hee hee
I would try it out in the PH, but money is super, super tight for me right now. I'm currently fighting a brain tumor and stuck in a wheelchair, BUT... if I pinch my pennies, in about a few weeks I should have the fifty bucks, so for right now, I just want to make sure I'm planning everything to get the maximum enjoyment out of it, and then I can melt FACE of bad guys :biggrin:
Powers:
Level 1: Infernal Bolts
Level 1: Infernal Blast (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Venomous Breath (Rank 2, Paralytic Bile, Infectious Bile)
Level 8: Invulnerability (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Aspect of the Infernal
Level 14: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 17: Thermal Reverberation
Level 20: Flashfire
Level 23: Resurgence (Rank 2)
Level 26: Fire Snake (Rank 2, Trail Blazer)
Level 29: Ebon Void (Voracious Darkness)
Level 32: Defile (Rank 2)
Level 35: Force Detonation (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 38: Ego Surge (Rank 2, Nimble Mind)
And ya can change the spec trees, since ur not using a melee combo then:
Specializations:
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
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: Focused Strikes (3/3)
Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)
That actually looks like a pretty nice build for all the mix of attack types. Venom Breath isn't high dps (ideally you'd use epidemic instead), but at least its cheap and easy to use.
Only one can be slotted per time, yea. You'd only want >1 passive if you plan on regularly switching between two roles or mini-builds w/ the same character.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
It fits my usual playstyle, which is... I usually try to stay flying and just blast away.
I got into that habit back on CoH, when I made a Energy / Energy blaster named Spree, her backstory was, she lived in Skyway City and was always fighting the Trolls. I would hover over them and blast blast and... you guessed it... blast away at them, and the occasional chase lol.
Ahhh, the memories. This character build could be like Spree all over again!
Except this time, she has some defensive abilities, and isn't quite as squishy. I am very grateful for your build idea, and am going to save it with all my other saved builds hehehe.
Hmmm, after goofing around with it a bit, I came up with this... but if you think your previous build idea is still better, I'll just stick with that....
http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=9&n=Scourge%20FF%206&d=1532ThGIbcfM170Q000Q201Q6099C03QH01J5032800QC05QG012D05K7042A003E03EI050ckr438W0ca1
Having 2 spam-able AoE's (venom breath and epidemic) is a bit redundant, and skipping defile is not ideal, but the build can work that way too.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
And if Fire Snake is better than Flash Fire, then I'll just go with that. Knowing the NPC AI, they are likely to jump out of the AoE anyway, while a Fire Snake would be able to chase them around while I shoot at them lol. @_@
The reason ya still want firesnake w/ flashfire is just cause firesnake is a really good debuff for all elemental damage- it actually has little to do w/ clinging flames itself. If ya use any build that's heavy in fire, ice, and/or toxic damage, firesnake's debuff provides a considerable dps increase.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Well, I did it! I have made Saryn... based on your ideas
http://powerhouse.nullware.com/powerhouse.html?v=9&n=Scourge%20FF%20Build%204&d=1583TNQXPWaM070Q000Q203Q3049C03Q60DQH01J5032C002800QG01K7052D013E03EI050ckt3SXU2swX
Which I Oh So Creatively named the build Scourge FF Build #4 lol
Anyways... I just made her, and I'm gonna have some fun running around doing the noob missions. And best of all I get a free vehicle this weekend lol. Thanks for all the help bud!
Also, the build doesn't have a combo anymore, so Warden's Slaughter isn't doing anything for the build.
Ya could either take this setup for Warden (more survival-oriented w/ Elusive vs. AoE):
Warden: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Warden: Ruthless (2/2)
Warden: Elusive (2/2)
Warden: The Best Defense (3/3)
.. or trade it for Guardian (more dps from Find the Mark w/ Ranged spells):
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Ya may also want to trade Avenger for Vindicator and take Ego Mastery (more versatile, better defenses):
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (1/3)
Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (2/3)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
You know... they really should have more of a tutorial thing in the Powerhouse or something, when it comes to FF's, because... dang man, I was almost totally at a loss for where to look to choose the powers that become available, and then how you click and drag them into the right build.... and then there's the fact that you can't run some of them in certain build roles... like, for example, with Invulnerability thrown in there (which I wouldn't trade for anything BTW), it seems I can only have it thrown into my toolbar when in Hybrid or Tank roles, but not straight up ranged mode.
It's just a bit confusing for a first-timer FF player... knowing to look up top of that power selection window for those tiny little icons, etc. But... I guess that's why you decided to put Aspect of the Infernal in there? Maybe? I dunno what I'm talking about lol.
The only change I've made so far early on, is, I've changed the order of Quick Recovery and Boundless Reserves, because I need a bit more Recovery early on with this build. Also, at first I thought it was crazy putting Devour Essence in there. Heh.
Heh heh heh. HEH HEH HEH MWA HAHAHA!!! *ahem*...(straightens back up) and... that's all I'll say about that.
Yesterday was a very hectic day, but I did manage to get just past the Kevin Poe mission and was on the first few Chief Surhoff ones when I literally nodded off at the keyboard lol. SO.... time to make more coffee, and get back at it!!!
Does make me feel bad for more naive players leveling the new AT w/o shortcuts (retrain token, vehicle, etc)- CN seems to assume that just cause ya got one lvl 40 that ur experienced enough to fully level a bad AT build. LOLNO!
Even w/ the double XP buff, and given how fast it is to reach max lvl in this game, I wouldn't force anyone to have to slog through the AT just to get to the new powers. Even I'm finding it a chore, and I've endured the Impulse, Mind, Blade, and Inventor leveling.
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!