Episode 43 – News, Notes, and IO Sets Part 4

This episode we take a break from XPXPing to bring you some news, patch notes, and the (almost!) final installment of the IO Sets feature. Linkage: Details About Mac Version & Perks New Video Ads for Mac! Massively.com gives City of Heroes 2008 Award!! URGENT! – Do NOT Use Witch Leather Top City of Heroes Featured on Apple Games! Live Patch — 1.22.09 Announcing 57 & 60 Month Veteran Rewards! Mur Lafferty’s favorite character Promo:Movie Mantras Clicky to see the full text for Part 4 of Fantastic Foe’s IO Sets feature The following is the (more or less) final installment in the Fantastic Foe IO Set Featurettes, presenting specific character attributes and the IO sets that support them as bonuses. I’ll be presenting the following topics based on protections to damage type, with commonly associated damages merged: ie. smashing and lethal, fire and cold, energy and negative energy, etc. The percentage bonuses are rather small, and obviously aren’t meant to replace powersets. When discussing resistances and defenses, I’d like to make a few statements: 1) 1% defense is roughly equivalent to 2% of resistance. The reasoning behind this non-binding law of protective equivalence has been hashed out in the forums. It’s not an exact science, but for lightweight discussions, it works okay. 2) % bonuses seem small, but they are worthwhile. +5% defense is the same benefit granted a character using a shield in Dungeons and Dragons, or any other +1 bonus to armor class, and I rarely in my days of gaming saw anyone forgo the use of a shield when it was available to them to have one on the basis that the bonus was too small. SMASHING/LETHAL RESISTANCE/DEFENSE Smashing/Lethal is not only the most common damage type in the game, but it is often a component of energy and elemental based attacks (i.e. being hit by a cold/smashing attack or fire/lethal) so improving Smashing/Lethal resistance or defense is usually a good investment. Sadly, your options are limited when it comes to IO set bonuses versus Smash/Lethal. Smashing/Lethal Resistance Sets providing Smash/Lethal Resistance bonuses with 3 IOs: Knockback: Kinetic Crash +2.5% Smashing Resistance Sets providing Smash/Lethal Resistance bonuses with 4 IOs: Targeted AOE: Air Burst   + 0.63 Smash/Lethal Resist Pet: Edict of the Master   + 2.5% Lethal Resist Sleep: Hibernation   +1.25% Smash Resist [4 out of 5 required] Smashing Lethal Defense Sets providing Smash/Lethal Defense bonuses with 2 IOs: To Hit Buff: Rectified Reticle  +0.95% Smash/Lethal [2 of 3 required] Sets providing Smash/Lethal Defense bonuses with 3 IOs: Taunt: Annoyance   +0.63 Smash/Lethal  Def [3 of 3 required] Taunt: Triumphant Insult   +0.95 Smash/Lethal Defense [3/3] To Hit Debuff: Discouraging Words   +0.63 S/L Defense [3/3] Sets providing Smash/Lethal Defense bonuses with 4 IOs: Sleep:Lethargic Repose   +1.88% Smashing Defense Slow: Curtail Speed +1.25% Lethal Defense [4/5] Immob: Enfeebled Operation +2.5% Lethal Defense Taunt: Mocking Beratement  +1.26% Smash/Lethal Defense Sets providing Smash/Lethal Defense bonuses with 6 IOs: Taunt: Perfect Zinger +1.58% Smash/Lethal Defense And that’s it. More defense options are available than resistance, which is fine if you want marginal gains in defense since the defensive pool powers, ( i.e. combat jumping, hover, etc. ) offer very small defensive bonuses, even when slotted to explicitly improve defense. (I think the base is 2.5%, triple slotting with defense hits around 4% total) FIRE/COLD RESISTANCE/DEFENSE Interestingly enough, all but one of the following sets provide either protections against the elemental damage of fire or cold attacks with only an investment of 3 set IOs. So Fire and Cold protections can be interwoven with other 2 and 3 IO set combinations. When I first began researching IO bonuses against Fire and Cold, I assumed that there would be many sets that only provided protections against cold, or only against fire. That way one could reinforce a particular concept for a character, like you might do in the Champions pen and paper RPG.  Say a character might be particularly resistant or particularly vulnerable to fire, totally unrelated to how they react against other damage types, such as cold damage. But in almost all cases in City of Heroes, bonuses from IO sets for fire apply to bonuses for cold. Fire/Cold Damage Resistance Sets providing Fire/Cold Resistance bonuses with 3 IOs: PBAOE: Multi-Strike +0.95% Fire/Cold Resist Ranged: Salvo +1.26% Fire/Cold Resist [3 of 3 required] Targeted AOE: Positron’s Blast +1.58% Fire/Cold Resist Sniper: Executioner’s Contract +3.13% COLD Resist Heal: Doctored Wounds +1.26% Fire/Cold Resist Defense: Gift of the Ancients +2.5% FIRE Resist Defense: Red Fortune +1.26% Fire/Cold Resist Immob: Debilitative Action +2.5% COLD Resist Stun: Rope a Dope +0.95% Fire/Cold Resist The following are from the rare unique level 50 sets (still 3 IOs): Melee: Hecatomb +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance PBAOE: Armageddon +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance Targeted AOE: Ragnarok +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance Sleep: Fortunata Hypnosis +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance Immob: Gravitational Anchor +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance Hold: Unbreakable Constraint +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance Stun: Absolute Amazement +2.52% Fire/Cold Resistance Fire/Cold Attack Defense Sets providing Fire/Cold Defense bonuses with 3 IOs: Ranged: Maelstrom’s Fury +1.88% COLD Def  [3 of 4 needed] Sniper: Exploit Weakness +0.63% Fire/Cold Def  [3/4] Pet: Blood Mandate +0.95% Fire/Cold Defense Resist: Aegis +1.58% Fire/Cold Defense Stun:Stagger +0.63% Fire/Cold Defense And the exception to all other Fire/Cold bonus sets: Set providing Fire/Cold Defense bonus with 5 IOs Taunt: Mocking Beratement +1.58% Fire/Cold Defense Alright, there are more options for boosting fire/cold and the percentages are larger than the smash/lethal set, although that is tempered by the fact that many of the resistance sets are unique and therefore part of an expensive pool of IOs. Still, you might be able to with very little effort get 3-4% defense, or 7-8% resistance to fire/cold attacks. That’s not too bad on defense, since it’ll stack with hover/combat jumping, and of course with the benefits of a Force Field: Insulation shield. (I say of course, like I know… but for all I know they don’t… I leave that answer as an exercise for the listener…) ENERGY/NEGATIVE ENERGY RESISTANCE/DEFENSE I should probably refer to energy attacks such as the energy component in Energy Blast or Radiation as “Positive Energy” since “Energy” in general should encompass “Negative Energy” as well. But I’m lazy, and that’s like 8 whole characters, so take it on spec that Energy and Negative Energy are Positive Energy and Negative Energy respectively. Capiche? Again, most Energy and Neg. Energy protection bonuses are found in the 3 IO range, which leaves nice options for franken-slotting,Also, about half of the IO sets only apply a bonus to positive energy or negative energy but not both. Energy/Negative Damage Resistance Sets providing Energy Resistance bonuses with 3 IOs: PBAOE: Scirocco’s Dervish +3.13% Negative Energy Resis. Ranged: Tempest +0.63% Energy/Neg Energy Resis. [3 of 4] Targeted AOE: Detonation +1.88% Energy Resis. Immob: Enfeebled Operation +1.88% Neg. Energy Resis. Hold: Paralytic +0.63% Energy/Neg Energy Resis [ 3 of 5] Fear: Unspeakable Terror +2.5% Negative Energy Resis To Hit Buff: Adjusted Targeting + 1.26% NRG/Neg. NRG Res Set providing Energy Resistance bonus with 4 IOs: To Hit Debuff: Dampened Spirits +2.5% Neg. Energy Res. Energy/Negative Energy Defense Sets providing Energy/Negative Energy Defense bonuses with 3 IOs: Melee: Pulverizing Fisticuffs +0.65% NRG/Neg NRG Def [3/4] Melee: Pounding Slugfest +0.63% Energy/Neg Energy Def[3/4] PBAOE: Cleaving Blow +1.25% Energy Defense [3/4] Ranged: Thundersrtrike +2.5% Energy Defense Sniper: Calibrated Accuracy +0.95% Energy/Neg Energy Def Sniper: Sting of the manticore +0.95% Energy/Neg Energy Def Resist Dam:Reactive Armor +1.25% Energy Defense Sleep: Lethargic Repose +1.88% Energy Defense Fear: Nightmare +1.88% Negative Energy Defense There’s not a huge number of sets, particularly that only half or so apply both to positive and negative flavored energy damage, but the percentages aren’t too bad, and you could probably get a +5% defense (or possible an equivalent combo of defense and resistance.) This might help plug a hole or two, but doesn’t seem super exciting. Certainly, IO set bonuses can easily improve the 2.5% unenhanced defense Hover gives (4% triple SO enhanced.) TOXIC/PSIONIC RESISTANCE/DEFENSE Although Toxic damage and Psionic damage are unrelated, bonuses that protect against them tend to be linked in the IO set bonuses. So, for purposes of this featurette, they are related. So say we all. With one exception, all Toxic Resistance, Psionic Resistance, and Psionic Defense bonus set IOs require total commitment: 6 IOs. (There is no Toxic Defense, by the way, as Toxic-damaging attacks have an attack vector (usually, I think) of ranged/special. The arcana involving an attack’s damage type and attack vector type might be a worthwhile feature one day….) So, if you want to get any significant bonuses against Psionic or Toxic, prepare to pay. (Since any investment is probably going to be expensive, I don’t separate out the unique sets from the regular sets, since it’s all going to cost a ton.) Toxic/Psionic Resistance Sets that offer resistance bonuses against toxic or psionic damage for a mere 6 IOs: Melee: Crushing Impact +2.5% Psi Res Melee:Hecatomb +5% Toxic Res PBAOE:Armageddon +5% Toxic Res Ranged: Decimation +1.58% Toxic/Psi Res Target AOE:Detonation +1.88% Toxic Res Target AOE:Positron’s Blast +3.13% Res Target AOE: Ragnarok +5% Toxic Res Sniper: Sting of the Manticore +3.13% Toxic Res Pet: Brilliant Leadership +1.26% Toxic/Psi Res Pet:Edict of the Master +1.26% Toxic/Psi Res Heal:Harmonized Healing +1.88% Toxic Res Heal: Doctored Wounds +1.26% Toxic/Pis Res Resist Damage: Impervium Armor +3.13% Psi Res Resist Damage: Reactive Armor +1.25% Toxic Res Resist Damage: Aegis +3.13% Toxic Res Defense: Serendipity +1.25% Toxic Res Defense: Gift of the Ancients +2.5% Psi Res Defense: Luck of the Gambler +3.13% Psi Res Confuse: Perplex +0.95% Toxic/Psi Res Sleep: Lethargic Repose +1.88% Toxic Res Sleep: Call of the Sandman +1.58% Toxic/Psi Res Sleep: Fortunata Hypnosis +5% Toxic Res Immob: Debilitative Action +2.5% Toxic Res Immob: Gravitational Anchor +5% Toxic Res Hold: Ghost Widow’s Embrace +3.13% Psi Res Hold: Unbreakable Constraint +5% Toxic Res Fear: Unspeakable Horror +2.5% Psi Res Fear: Glimpse of the Abyss +3.13% Psi Res Fear: Nightmare +0.95% Toxic/Psi Res Stun: Absolute Amazement +5% Toxic Res To Hit Debuff: Dark Watcher’s Despair +3.75% Psi Res Psionic Defense (There is no toxic defense!) Sets providing Psionic Defense bonuses with 2 IOs Resist: Impervium Armor    +1.88 Psi Defense Sets providing Psionic Defense bonuses with 6 IOs PBAOE:Scirocco’s Dervish  +3.13% Psi Defense Ranged: Devastation  +3.75% Psi Defense Ranged: Apocalypse  +5% Psi Defense Pet: Soulbound Allegiance  +5% Psi Defense Heal: Miracle  +1.88% Psi Defense Defense:Gift of the Ancients  +2.5% Psi Defense Stun: Rope a Dope  +1.88% Psi Defense Now, that’s a pretty fair amount of protective bonus sets, although of course I’ve munged (fancy technical term for moooshing…) Toxic and Psionic, but usually a set that protects against one does so against the other. Usually. Anyway, if you have mad influence to burn to complete 6 IOs pieces, I mean a lot of influence, then it looks like you could rack up Resistance percentages easily from 5-15%. I mean, boatloads of influence, and the availability of the pieces in the market. Defense, eh, you could probably easily (given cash and availability) hit 10% defense. Sure, 10% doesn’t sound that much, but that’s a +2 in D and D terms! POSITIONAL (MELEE, RANGED, AOE) DEFENSE This category of sets that contribute to positional defenses is a looooong list. The previous defenses worked against attacks based on the type of damage that they did or roughly on the kind of elemental attack that it was. Positional defense is different in that it works regardless of the damage type of an attack; it defends against the vector or positional characteristic of the attack. Is it a melee attack like a punch? A ranged attack like a blast? Or an area of effect attack like an explosion? So Positional Defense is usually either a ranged defense, melee defense, or AOE defense Since positional defenses work equally well regardless of the damage (a flaming sword attack or a kick are both melee, so melee defense can apply to both equally) they are intrinsically more useful than “typed” defenses, where you might have defense against lethal, fire, cold, energy, negative energy, psionic, and then get hit by a 100% smashing baseball. Positional Defense bonuses from IO sets are also rather expensive, since most sets that offer any positional defenses usually require at least 5 IOs from a set. On the plus side, most percentages are at least +1.25%, so there’s no dinking around with 0.68% bonuses or similar nonsense. And now, the list: Sets providing Positional Defense bonuses with 3 IOs Defense Debuff: Exploited Vulnerability  +1.25% MELEE Def Defense Debuff: Achilles Heel  +1.88% AOE Def Sets providing Positional Defense bonuses with 5 IOs PBAOE:Multi Strike  +1.88% AOE Def PBAOE:Scirocco’s Dervish  +3.13% AOE Def Ranged:Ruin  +1.88% AOE Def Targeted AOE:Detonation  +1.88% AOE Def Sniper:Extreme Measures  +2.5% AOE Def Pets:Commanding Presence  +1.88% AOE Def Pets:Blood Mandate  +3.75% AOE Def Heal:Harmonized Healing  +1.88% AOE Def Heal:Miracle  +1.88% AOE Def Resist Damage:Reactive Armor  +1.25% AOE Def Resist Damage:Aegis  +3.13% AOE Def Confuse:Cacophony  +2.5% AOE Def Confuse:Perplex  +1.88% AOE Def Sleep:Lethargic Repose  +1.88% AOE Def Immob:Debilitative Action  +2.5% AOE Def Stun: Razzle Dazzle  +2.5% MELEE Def Sets providing Positional Defense bonuses with 6 IOs Melee:Touch of Death  +3.13% MELEE Def Melee:Mako’s Bite  +3.75% RANGED Def PBAOE:Multistrike  +1.88% MELEE Def Ranged:Thunderstrike  +2.5% RANGED Def Sniper:Calibrated Accuracy  +3.13% RANGED Def Sniper:Executioners Contract  +1.88% RANGED Def Sniper:Extreme Measures  +2.5% MELEE Def Pets:Blood Mandate  +3.75% RANGED Def Pets:Sovereign Right  +3.13% MELEE Def Resist Damage:Titanium Coating  +2.5% MELEE Def Defense:Red Fortune  +2.5% RANGED Def Confuse:Malaise’s Illusions  +3.13% RANGED Def Confuse:Coercive Persuasion  +5% RANGED Def Sleep:Induced Coma  +2.5% MELEE Def Slow:Impeded Swiftness  +2.5% MELEE Def Slow:Tempered Readiness  +1.88% RANGED Def Slow:Pacing of the Turtle  +3.13% RANGED Def Immob:Enfeebled Operation  +3.13% MELEE Def Immob:Trap of the Hunter  +3.13% RANGED Def Hold:Neuronic Shutdown  +2.5% RANGED Def Hold:Essence of Curare  +1.88% RANGED Def Stun:Razzle Dazzle  +2.5% AOE Def Stun:Stupefy  +3.13% RANGED Def Knockback:Force Feedback  +3.13% AOE Def Endurance Mod:Performance Shifter  +3.13% AOE Def To Hit Buff:Gaussian’s Synchronized Fire Control  +2.5% AOE, Melee, Ranged Def Defense Debuff:Undermined Defense  +2.5% AOE Def Now, there are a lot of Sets that contribute to one of the three aspects of positional defense, and there are enough variations in percentages that, should you possess a ginormous supply of influence and the ability to make people sell some valuable IOs in the market, you could rack up some healthy percentages. Totally as a thought experiment, lets say you could 5-stack three of the common percentages, 1.88, 2.5, and 3.13. That’s probably impossible, but lets just say you could. It is numerically impossible that you could do this for all three of the positional defense flavors, so mentally just pick your favorite, Melee, Ranged, or AOE. (1.88 + 2.5 + 3.13) * 5 = 37.55%! Since the average even con minion only has a 50% to hit you, if you could mythically slot such a bonus, a bad guy when attacking on the vector you’re protected against would only have a 12.45 % chance of hitting. (More or less. I’m way simplifying the complicated To Hit calculation for conceptual reasons…I would encourage listeners more versed in the To Hit mechanics to confirm or refute my simplified math.) Now, it’s doubtful you could slot 15 powers of the 24 (for non-Kheldians and not counting inherents) that we get during game to get such a godlike defense (against one of ranged, melee, *or* AOE) but it is reasonable that you could get a 10% bonus perhaps against one, two, or all three position vectors. Reasonable given availability of IOs and your cash reserves, of course. If I can offer some general opinions on positional defense: even if percentages are small, defense is nice to have and positional defense is nicer than typed defense. Traditional “hardened” types, Tanks, Scrappers, Brutes, and yes, even Peacebringers (even Human-Form PBs I consider hardened) probably don’t need the extra defense, but it always helps. Percentage bonuses of defense are always worth more to characters when adding to an existing base (this is true of resistance too, but I’m talking defense in this section, so move along with me.) Non-hardened archetypes can certainly supplement what defenses they might have, and based on their play-styles, a particular kind of defense might be better than others. I tend to suggest AOE defense to characters who don’t want to necessarily be in melee, but end up their anyway, either because they want to get the benefit of an AOE heal being cast on the team tank’s opponent, or they’re using their hurricane to pin enemies in a corner, or they are standing next to a bad guy who happens to be the anchor of a mighty debuff effect. Or they just like being near the tank. Being next to a tank doesn’t sound bad. Even if he’s not taunting, his gauntlet will be getting attention, and if you get in trouble the tank can start knocking down anyone bullying you, and the team defender (should they possess heals and have been keeping an eye on the tank) has you on their radar. But… then the boss villain drops a Nuke. Even if none of the enemies are paying attention to you standing in the tank’s shadow, the grenade from that Council Lieutenant, or the missiles from that Malta Titan just don’t care, they are going to blow up next to you anyway while bouncing off the tank. So AOE defense can go a long way. Second up would be Ranged defense, since characters not planning on melee’ing can usually maneuver out of melee range. But since it seems that every enemy has a ranged attack that waaay exceeds a player’s range, maneuvering beyond melee just gets you shot at. So, ratgned defense cuts down on the times your defeated by madly fleeing. Just stay out of range of the AOE flamethrowers. But, if you really want Melee defense I’m not going to argue. Melee attacks usually do more damage than ranged, and if you know you’re going to get punched at, stabbed at, clawed, thumped etc, by all means, try to get some melee defense and reduce how often that happens. Just be aware, positional defense bonuses usually don’t work with the traditional power pool defenses, like Combat Jumping or Hover. Those powers are usually good against all Damage Types, defense vs fire, cold, smashing, lethal, negative energy, etc. Typed Defense values and Positional Defense values don’t stack. I discovered this when Real Numbers became available, and I could monitor the defenses on my Super Reflexes scrapper, who now no longer turns on Combat Jumping. Again, please correct me if I am talking out of my nether region. You know what I mean. HOLD AND STUN RESISTANCE I’m introducing Holds and Stuns together, since thematically they are similar, but I’ll present the sets that support protections separately. Stun resistance is mostly in the 4 IO range, and Hold resistance is in the 5 IO range, but except for two sets, the bonuses for slotting against hold or against stun are from entirely different supersets of IOs. I’m not a huge fan of the bonuses available. To accumulate a serious effect, you would probably have to take either Acrobatics to reduce time Held, and  use Aid Self proactively to reduce time Stunned, and add bonuses from IO sets on top of that. Other than that, I suspect you can easily get 10% reductions in time spent stunned or held. I would be interested if anyone could get in the 30% range in either (particular in Stun resistance.) Stun Resistance Sets that offer Stun resistance bonuses for 4 IOs: PBAOE:Multi-Strike  +1.65% Stun Resistance Ranged: Maelstrom’s Fury  +1.65% Stun Resistance Pet:Blood Mandate  +1.65% Stun Resistance Pet: Sovereign Right  +2.75% Stun Resistance Resist Damage: Titanium Coating  +2.2% Stun Resistance Confuse:Befuddling Aura  +1.1% Stun Resistance Confuse:Cacophony  +2.2% Stun Resistance Slow:Impeded Swiftness  +2.2% Stun Resistance Hold:Essence of Curare  +1.65% Stun Resistance Fear:Horror  +1.1% Stun Resistance Set that offers Stun resistance for 5 IOs: Stun:Stagger +1% Stun Resistance [ 5 of 5 required] Hold Resistance Set that offers Hold resistance for 3 IOs: Taunt: Mocking Beratement +2.75% Hold Resistance Sets that offer Hold resistance for 5 IOs: Melee:Touch of Death  +2.75% Hold Resistance Melee:Mako’s Bite  +3.3% Hold Resistance Ranged Damage:Devastation  +3.3% Hold Resistance Sniper:Executioner’s Contract  +2.75% Hold Resistance Pet:Edict of the Master  +2.2% Hold Resistance Pet:Sovereign Right  +2.75% Hold Resistance Pet:Soulbound Allegiance  +4.4% Hold Resistance Heal:Numina’s Convalescence  +3.3% Hold Resistance Resist Damage:Impervium Armor  +2.75% Hold Resistance Resist Damage:Titanium Coating  +2.75% Hold Resistance Defense: Gift of the Ancients  +2.2% Hold Resistance Defense: Luck of the Gambler  +2.75% Hold Resistance Slow: Impeded Swiftness  +2.2% Hold Resistance Slow: Pacing of the Turtle  +2.75% Hold Resistance Immob: Trap of the Hunter  +2.75% Hold Resistance Fear: Nightmare  +1.65% Hold Resistance Stun: Rope a Dope  +1.88% Hold Resistance I find it interesting that the inexpensive set for Hold Resistance is a Taunt set, since the classic Taunter, the Tank, usually has excellent Hold protections for PVE. PVP might be different… AND THAT IS THAT! I’M DONE! Well, not exactly. There were a handful of other attributes, but I’m passing on them by mentioning them this way. Some of the Heal IO sets improve all your healing, some of the Slow IO sets improve your slows, Confuse sets improve confuses, Fear sets improve Fear durations, etc. You’ll run into those bonuses pretty much as you gather up set IOs just to slot the usual enhancement bonuses. Those will jump out at you, and there’s no need to state them here. I’d like to thank ParagonWiki’s page on Invention Origin sets, which saved me from making a big matrix of what each set offers. I appreciated being able to look at bonus values without having to look at recipes or crafted IO enhancements in Wentworths. That being said, I take responsibility for any errors or irregularities in this report. In my defense, there were a lot of notes being taken and shuffled around, with bits of info being added to, amended, errors found, etc. I would have had my editor wife assist me or proofread, but I can’t afford her rates, the mercenary. I hope that this report provides some value. I know I’d been wanting to beef up my level 50s, but had not really been putting the time in to see what I could do. After cataloging the values from IO sets, it gave me certain goals to achieve for my characters, which helped me draft up some recipe shopping lists, which of course gave me an Influence goal and prompted me to start in on playing them again. Any reason to play my 50s is a good reason