Powerset rundown?

[Archived Post]

Hey, character creation is pretty daunting (as usual for a new MMO) and I'd rather not gimp myself. Could someone give a rundown of each framework briefly to say what the 'point' of each one is, from a practical standpoint? For example, it seems the dual blades guy I rolled up is kind of a crit-dependent, DPS machine.

[Archived Post]

Uh... that's kind of a tall order there.

First and foremost you need to understand that the concept of frameworks is extremely flimsy. It's really only used at character creation, after that it's whatever power you like. Somewhere in your 20s-30s you'll have access to every power, irregardless of which powers you're taken already.

I'll try a very basic rundown here, and I'll split them up by some very important common features that you need to take into consideration when you build your character.

Energy Forms - These frameworks push out stupid amounts of damage while in their respective Energy Form. They are the glass cannons of CO. You can give them more survivability by taking one of the passive D abilities and swapping your deffensive/offensive builds as you see fit, but be prepared to lose a lot of DPS when you switch to defensive.

Fire - AoE and DoT-tastic nukers. With their Fire form and a lot of Presence, you can do a ton of damage. They also have a very powerful charged AoE (Pyre I believe).

Ice - CC and nukes. Most, if not all, of their abilities have either a snare or root component applied to it. They also have a knockback which is just a blast to use. Using their Ice form and a lot of Endurance, they can do great damage.

Electricity - AoE nukes. Hitting multiple targets is the name of the Electricity game. Electric form and Endurance boost your damage by a lot.

Darkness - Decent all-around-nuker. Throw on Darkness form and you get some great DPS out of them. They also take the cake for the coolest looking energy form.

Telekinesis - Not a lot of experience here, but I really want to build a character that uses Telekinesis soon. You've got a couple options here for passives, either your Ego form which grants you a 2nd ego blade (which increases your damage) and some extra defense, or Darkness form, which also grants boosted ego damage. I'm not sure which would result in higher DPS, but there are a couple of good choices. Unfortunately, like all other Energy form classes, you lose a lot of DPS if you want to pick up a passive D ability.

Melee DPS - Typically there are two choices for these melee DPS classes. Stick with their Focus passive for better DPS, or drop their Focus for a passive D and lose some DPS for a lot more survivability. Personally, I much prefer a passive D to the Focus passive. My suggestions: DEX/EGO + Regen or STR/CON + Invuln

Dual Blades - AoE and crit focused.

Single Blade - Single target and bleeds.

Claws - Single target with slashing vuln attacks.

Kung Fu - Not really sure where they fit in, honestly. I don't have much experience with them.

Solo/Defensive DPS - These are excellent solo classes when paired with a passive defense ability. The passive defense ability is either in the framework, or the framework lacks a good offensive passive, which leaves an opening for a passive D ability.

Archery - Holy freaking AoE DPS. The low levels will never be as easy as taking Sonic Arrow and getting the AoE advantage. You'll 1-shot 3 mobs at a time up until you hit 10-15 or so, and then it takes 1 shot and a quick no-charge followup. Seriously, it's hilarious. I strongly recommend DEX/EGO + Regen for Archery. They also have a great ranged stun.

Power Armor - Power armor is a grab bag of crazy attacks, and overall a very versatile framework. You can slot for defensive, or offensive. If you go defensive, STR/CON + Invuln is a great pick. If you want offensive, END/<whatever you want> + Quarry is a pretty good pick. Electric Form also boosts particle damage, so if you plan to use your particle abilities, it's a good choice as well.

Force - Nukes, force fields and knockbacks. Force is a great set, you'll deal great damage and you are very versatile. Personal Force Field (PFF) is an excellent passive D ability when paired with END. I was also told that Darkness form boosts Force damage as well, if that's true, taking that will boost your damage quite a bit.

Munitions - Maintained DPS. Two-Gun Mojo is an excellent PvE skill. You'll have a hard time matching its single target DPS with any ability out there. I'd pick Regen for my passive and go DEX/EGO for my stats. Beware though, because so many of Munitions attacks are rapid-hit low damage maintained attacks, you'll have a hard time with anyone using Invuln in PvP.

Pets Classes - I'll admit, I don't know much about the pet classes. They're not my style, so I haven't spent much time with them. From what I've heard though, pets are pretty weak right now. The exception seems to be the Munitions bot in the Gadgetry tree.

Gadgetry - Pets, crazy effects, and chainsaws. What more could you ask for? It has some great abilities, so it's pretty common to see a character with at least 1 gadgetry ability. The two most common are the Nanobot ability (I don't recall the exact name, forgive me, but it reduces your cooldowns and will heal you if you get the advantage for it) and the healer drones.

Sorcery - Pets, buffs, a heal, and overall some great support abilities. Sorcery is a mix of support and pet class, depending on which abilities you pick up. The Sanctuary sigils are incredibly annoying in PvP, but a real lifesaver if the sorcerer is on your side. I don't know much about their pets, but again, from what I've heard, pets are pretty weak right now.

Support Classes - Pretty self explanitory
Telepathy - Telepathy has some great support abilities. They've got a lot of CC and some good heals, though the heals are almost impossible to use if you've got anyone hitting you, as they get interrupted on damage. If you wanted to boost your damage, nab the Darkness form as it increaases Ego damage.

Might and Supernatural - Because they don't really fit into any of the other categories I've listed.

Might - Melee tank with all sorts of fun knockbacks. They get the Defiance passive, which builds in strength the longer you're in combat. The knockbacks on your attacks are great for interrupting people, but I've been told the damage you deal is pretty lackluster. I'd suggest STR/CON and either Defiance or Invuln

Supernatural - Oh dear god, where to begin... Supernatural has a lot of variety to it. Ranged AoEs, health drains, melee attacks and pull abilities. Iron Lariat is often picked up by melee DPS to help keep their targets in range. Regeneration and Resurgence are also very commonly used, and are especially handy if you are a DEX/EGO build as regen ticks can crit. Beyond that, it's hard to say. Just like Sorcery, there are a ton of abilities to pick from, and they cover a wide variety of uses.

[Edit]There we go, finished. Keep in mind this is based largely on my own experiences and opinions, but I hope it helps.

[Archived Post]

Pretty sure that a decent article has been made as a sticky.

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=30182

[Archived Post]

You're right, that is a good post. :o

[Archived Post]

The first two posts explain everything you need, i'm only here to say it is almost impossible to gimp your toon.

As long as you keep a defensive, thats all you need.

[Archived Post]

Pretty sure that a decent article has been made as a sticky.

http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=30182

Yeah, I glanced at that but it really wasn't what I needed. What I was looking for was what Azrus provided perfectly: a quick summary of the 'feel' of the frameworks.