ok, DS asked for my input on CotA, and I felt obliged to help.
He also mentioned that CotA should be more geared towards blast-fender, than a tank-fender, so this is more of a suggested list, rather than hard won knowledge from hundreds of hours of playtime![[Image: banana-dance.gif]](http://www.accessdenied-rms.net/forums/forumimportfiles//banana-dance.gif)
First, the current Build (snagged from the info window)
Radiation Emission: Radiant Aura, Accelerate Metabolism, Mutation, Enervating Field
Radiation Blast: Neutrino Bolt, X-Ray Beam, Irradiate
Teleportation: Recall Friend, Teleport
Fitness: Swift, Health, Stamina
Given the fact that she is already level 21, and you have Stamina, the most frustrating parts are now behind you.
There are some choices I would definitely have made different. But I'll try and go over every power in Radiation Emission and Radiation Blast with an eye to building a blast-fender.
Radiation Emission
Radiant Aura: A good aoe heal, not the best by any means. But enough to keep things going. And late game when you can spare the slots it becomes respectable. Take it and toss three slots in it's direction for now. 2 heal and a Recharge or a End Reduction, depending on how often you need it
Radiation Infection: The first power of the Rad Trifecta. This keeps the enemy from landing a hit on you as well as making them easier to hit. Take it, slot it, love it. Early game I would toss 4 slots it's way. 3 to-hit debuffs, and an endurance reduction. Later on as you can spare more, get more end-red. You don't need to worry about the -Def portion of this power, as every power in you secondary set will be eating away at their defense. This is the first power you should drop on a group, and if you are running out of end, it should be last toggle you turn off. It keeps you from getting hit. This power on Gamma and Decay will keep 90% of the alpha strike from hitting me.
Accelerate Metabolism: Another power to take and love. I'm sure I don't need to espouse it's virtues here. Get it, slot it for recharge and end-mod.
Enervating Field: The second of the Rad Trifecta. This makes the shots that do hit you hurt less, and you hurt them more. Take it, slot it, love it. This is the second toggle I drop on a group, right after Radiation Infection. Put 2 End-Red IOs in it and call it done.
Mutation: A very nice combat Rez. A single Recharge IO should take care of it.
Lingering Radiation: The Third of the Rad Trifecta. This slows down the enemy speed and puts a big hurt on their regeneration. Take it, slot it, love it. I drop this clickie on a group if I think they aren't going to stay clumped together or if there is a threat I don't want recovering from the damage I'm dishing out.
Choking Cloud: Personally I love this power, but it sucks end like no tomorrow. If you take it, 6 slot it with holds and end-reductions. This is definitely one of the powers to pick up post Stamina. Doubling the hold duration will mean that minions are perma-held, and lieutenants spend 80-90% of their time choking on fumes. Leaving the bosses as the only real threats in a group.
Fallout: A massively damaging power, better than some nukes but without the end crash. The drawback is that you need a dead blaster (or any other ally) to fire it off. I haven't picket this one up on either Gamma or Decay. Mainly because dead teammates mean I'm doing something wrong (or they have RotP and no sense of self preservation).
EM Pulse: The second best aoe hold in the game (EMP Arrow is slightly better because it can be targeted). This is your panic button, or late in the game it's your Fuck-you button. With 6 slots it will shut up just about any mob and leave anyone not stunned without enough endurance to bother you. Worth 45 seconds of peace at first, but can be easily slotted to 90 seconds. More than enough time to either haul ass out of there or (if you have the blues to chew) lay the smackdown on whomever was bothering you.
Radiation Blast
Neutrino Bolt:: Gotta take it, but it's not that bad. A very fast low power blast, worth using as a filler to any attack chain. I ended up slotting this for defense debuff rather than damage. And if I run across anyone who I am having a hard time hitting, I will spam them with this for a few seconds before bringing out the big guns again.
X-Ray Beam: I have never picked this power up blueside, but it works well enough on my redside corruptor. If you are shooting for a blast-fender I can easily see this as being part of your bread and butter.
Irradiate: A nicely damaging Aoe (does x-ray beam damage over a few seconds), a little heavy on the endurance cost, but it can be worthwhile if you find yourself often surrounded.
Electron Haze: The first of your meat and potato attacks. It works in a cone and has knockback, so with a little positioning you can lay the hurt in to a decent chunk of your foes. This power is what I end up using to deal a third of the damage I dish out to a mob.
Proton Volley: It's a snipe with a very cool sound effect (Fire Photon Torpedoes!). Take it or leave it depending on your playstyle. It is useful to pull guys out of mobs with, but you don't need to pick it up at level 16.
Aim: A nice bonus to damage and accuracy, take it and slot it with 2 recharge reduction IOs and call it done.
Cosmic Burst: Massive damage and a mag 3 stun, what's not to love. Take it, slot it, love it. You will make Bosses and EBs cry with this power. Slot for damage, stun, and recharge. Cause nothing says beatdown like perma-stunning the only enemy in the mob who a threat to you. This is the 2nd of my three main attack powers.
Neutron Bomb: The mushroom cloud of doom. A targeted aoe with decent damage. Properly slotted this will fill you attack chain with pain and death, I lean would lean towards damage and recharge with a little bit of accuracy. By the time you get this power, you should be putting a decent dent in your enemies defense. That in addition to the powers innate to-hit bonus, and you should only need 1 accuracy IO, if that.
Atomic Blast: This is your nuke, and like all nukes it dishes out some very nice damage. In addition to that it will hold, cut in half the defense of anything left standing. I haven't taken it on Gamma or Decay because I can't afford that endurance crash that comes with it. But if you are not toggle dependent like I am, it can be a very nice power.
Notes specific to your build:
I would drop mutation for now, and pick up Radiation Infection instead. This should greatly increase your solo survivability. Lay RI and EF down on a mob first, and you can heal any damage that does hit you with radiant aura.
Also, if you are gearing towards being more of a blaster than a tank, you may want to think about not taking Choking Cloud. Being surrounded by enemies is not where you want to be, and the endurance/slots used by this power can be put to much better use on filling your enemies with high energy particles.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
He also mentioned that CotA should be more geared towards blast-fender, than a tank-fender, so this is more of a suggested list, rather than hard won knowledge from hundreds of hours of playtime
First, the current Build (snagged from the info window)
Radiation Emission: Radiant Aura, Accelerate Metabolism, Mutation, Enervating Field
Radiation Blast: Neutrino Bolt, X-Ray Beam, Irradiate
Teleportation: Recall Friend, Teleport
Fitness: Swift, Health, Stamina
Given the fact that she is already level 21, and you have Stamina, the most frustrating parts are now behind you.
There are some choices I would definitely have made different. But I'll try and go over every power in Radiation Emission and Radiation Blast with an eye to building a blast-fender.
Radiation Emission
Radiant Aura: A good aoe heal, not the best by any means. But enough to keep things going. And late game when you can spare the slots it becomes respectable. Take it and toss three slots in it's direction for now. 2 heal and a Recharge or a End Reduction, depending on how often you need it
Radiation Infection: The first power of the Rad Trifecta. This keeps the enemy from landing a hit on you as well as making them easier to hit. Take it, slot it, love it. Early game I would toss 4 slots it's way. 3 to-hit debuffs, and an endurance reduction. Later on as you can spare more, get more end-red. You don't need to worry about the -Def portion of this power, as every power in you secondary set will be eating away at their defense. This is the first power you should drop on a group, and if you are running out of end, it should be last toggle you turn off. It keeps you from getting hit. This power on Gamma and Decay will keep 90% of the alpha strike from hitting me.
Accelerate Metabolism: Another power to take and love. I'm sure I don't need to espouse it's virtues here. Get it, slot it for recharge and end-mod.
Enervating Field: The second of the Rad Trifecta. This makes the shots that do hit you hurt less, and you hurt them more. Take it, slot it, love it. This is the second toggle I drop on a group, right after Radiation Infection. Put 2 End-Red IOs in it and call it done.
Mutation: A very nice combat Rez. A single Recharge IO should take care of it.
Lingering Radiation: The Third of the Rad Trifecta. This slows down the enemy speed and puts a big hurt on their regeneration. Take it, slot it, love it. I drop this clickie on a group if I think they aren't going to stay clumped together or if there is a threat I don't want recovering from the damage I'm dishing out.
Choking Cloud: Personally I love this power, but it sucks end like no tomorrow. If you take it, 6 slot it with holds and end-reductions. This is definitely one of the powers to pick up post Stamina. Doubling the hold duration will mean that minions are perma-held, and lieutenants spend 80-90% of their time choking on fumes. Leaving the bosses as the only real threats in a group.
Fallout: A massively damaging power, better than some nukes but without the end crash. The drawback is that you need a dead blaster (or any other ally) to fire it off. I haven't picket this one up on either Gamma or Decay. Mainly because dead teammates mean I'm doing something wrong (or they have RotP and no sense of self preservation).
EM Pulse: The second best aoe hold in the game (EMP Arrow is slightly better because it can be targeted). This is your panic button, or late in the game it's your Fuck-you button. With 6 slots it will shut up just about any mob and leave anyone not stunned without enough endurance to bother you. Worth 45 seconds of peace at first, but can be easily slotted to 90 seconds. More than enough time to either haul ass out of there or (if you have the blues to chew) lay the smackdown on whomever was bothering you.
Radiation Blast
Neutrino Bolt:: Gotta take it, but it's not that bad. A very fast low power blast, worth using as a filler to any attack chain. I ended up slotting this for defense debuff rather than damage. And if I run across anyone who I am having a hard time hitting, I will spam them with this for a few seconds before bringing out the big guns again.
X-Ray Beam: I have never picked this power up blueside, but it works well enough on my redside corruptor. If you are shooting for a blast-fender I can easily see this as being part of your bread and butter.
Irradiate: A nicely damaging Aoe (does x-ray beam damage over a few seconds), a little heavy on the endurance cost, but it can be worthwhile if you find yourself often surrounded.
Electron Haze: The first of your meat and potato attacks. It works in a cone and has knockback, so with a little positioning you can lay the hurt in to a decent chunk of your foes. This power is what I end up using to deal a third of the damage I dish out to a mob.
Proton Volley: It's a snipe with a very cool sound effect (Fire Photon Torpedoes!). Take it or leave it depending on your playstyle. It is useful to pull guys out of mobs with, but you don't need to pick it up at level 16.
Aim: A nice bonus to damage and accuracy, take it and slot it with 2 recharge reduction IOs and call it done.
Cosmic Burst: Massive damage and a mag 3 stun, what's not to love. Take it, slot it, love it. You will make Bosses and EBs cry with this power. Slot for damage, stun, and recharge. Cause nothing says beatdown like perma-stunning the only enemy in the mob who a threat to you. This is the 2nd of my three main attack powers.
Neutron Bomb: The mushroom cloud of doom. A targeted aoe with decent damage. Properly slotted this will fill you attack chain with pain and death, I lean would lean towards damage and recharge with a little bit of accuracy. By the time you get this power, you should be putting a decent dent in your enemies defense. That in addition to the powers innate to-hit bonus, and you should only need 1 accuracy IO, if that.
Atomic Blast: This is your nuke, and like all nukes it dishes out some very nice damage. In addition to that it will hold, cut in half the defense of anything left standing. I haven't taken it on Gamma or Decay because I can't afford that endurance crash that comes with it. But if you are not toggle dependent like I am, it can be a very nice power.
Notes specific to your build:
I would drop mutation for now, and pick up Radiation Infection instead. This should greatly increase your solo survivability. Lay RI and EF down on a mob first, and you can heal any damage that does hit you with radiant aura.
Also, if you are gearing towards being more of a blaster than a tank, you may want to think about not taking Choking Cloud. Being surrounded by enemies is not where you want to be, and the endurance/slots used by this power can be put to much better use on filling your enemies with high energy particles.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy