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| SHOWDOWN - Peacebringers VS Warshades - A City of Heroes FAQ |
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By Lord Arkaine, aka Giovanni Pais
Email: semajarchmage@yahoo.com
Date - December 8th 2004
Version - 0.75
Lord Arkaine - Level 50 Magic Fire/Energy Blaster on Champion
1. Copyright
------------
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
2. Version History
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0.50 - 11/30/04 - Tested out most of this firsthand, updates if powers change
0.75 - 12/08/04 - Reformatted FAQ, Added new sections
3. Table of Contents
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1. Copyright
2. Version History
3. Introduction
4. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
5. Power Selection and Slotting
6. Specialization
7. The verdict
8. Quick Power List
9. F.A.Q.s and Answers
10. Inter-Spatial Link (coming)
11. Building Tips (incomplete)
3. Introduction
---------------
This FAQ was created mainly to inform the masses who have been unable to try
the new archetypes for themselves, whether you don't have a level 50 or you
haven't had enough time to devote yet. It is also meant to bring to light
subtle differences between the two and compared to the normal archetypes that
will, hopefully, allow you to better plan out your character to your liking.
This is meant purely to inform and is merely the opinions of this author
supported by the data he has collected over many long nights. I will update
it as I gain new information or insights. Email me if you have any to offer.
Now, since every person who plays an epic AT has a level 50, I'm going to
assume you have basic knowledge of the game and it's powers. This way, I can
better describe the ones that resemble existing powers.
4. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
------------------------------
Right off the bat, most people want to know this -- what are the key
differences? It's actually a rather simple answer. The major differences
number six and I present them in order of least to most important and
game-influencing.
1) Color. That's right. White glowey eyes and special effects for the
Peacebringers, hereafter referred to as the PBs, and purplish-black glowey
eyes and special effects for the Warshades, hereafter referred to as the WSs.
2) Energy alignment. PBs use the Energy type for damage while the WSs are
Negatively infused.
3) Mode of transportation. Not as important as others only because the Nova
forms can fly and the Dwarf forms can teleport and both archetypes can get
both of these forms. PBs can inherently Fly and get Hover at level 10. WSs
can inherently Teleport (much cooler visual too) and get Recall Friend at 10.
4) Secondary Effect. All attacks by PBs lower defense while all attacks by
WSs lower attack and move speed (slow effect).
5) Interspatial Link. PBs gain offense by teaming with tankers and defenders
but gain defense with blasters and scrappers. WSs gain offense by teaming
with blasters and scrappers but gain defense with tankers and defenders. Both
gain status effect resistance by teaming with controllers. Each member in
your team adds 10% to damage or defense (or lowers status duration). Not that
important since you can just team with either, but consider this. Blasters
and scrappers make up the heart of every team. Usually, one tanker and
defender IF THAT will be in a team. This means PBs will be very defensive and
WSs will be very offensive (from their normal selves, not overall; see below).
6) MOST CRUCIAL: PBs are focused well to be Blaster/Tankers. They have MUCH
stronger attacks than the WSs and many more. They gain powers like Build Up
and Conserve Power as well as several powers that have greater than Moderate
damage output. The natural defense swing of their link combined with this
high offense makes them very tough and hard hitting. They also have a number
of self and team heals and their defense lowering attacks makes them hit even
harder. They have ultimate attacks in the form of powerful explosives and
pets. They have ultimate defense in the form of an Unstoppable variant and
Quantum Flight, a Super Speedy Fly that also Phase Shifts and Stealths
(intangibility plus ultra-fast flight).
WSs are much closer to Controllers, but can easily be considered all three
(Blastankroller). The slowing secondary that is in their nature shows this
well, as the rest of the team benefits from this a lot. Most of the powers in
their sets are PBAoEs that target multiple enemies and DRAIN them of life and
endurance. They do not get heals. They get life siphons. They do not get
Build Up. They get a siphon power variant. They do not get the PB self-rez.
Instead, they get a self-rez that requires enemies nearby to drain off of.
Essentially, while the PB has fixed buff powers, the WS's buffs are directly
proportional to the NUMBER of enemies surrounding him. Also, a very nice
Shadow Cloak is available, aka Stealth, as well as an exact clone of Phase
Shift, no uber speedy fly combo like the PBs have, but it works. Holds,
stuns, draining essence and endurance, these are the priorities of the
Warshade, NOT damage. In fact, aside from the ultimate Quasar, they only have
two other powers that do MORE than Moderate damage. One is a DoT that takes a
while to hit for the full effect and the other is a corpse explosion that
requires dead enemies to use.
Also, for added fun, PBs get Group Fly and WSs get Teleport Foe. Would have
rather had Air Superiority and Team Teleport but I guess me wanting it is why
they didn't do it. Can't make them TOO good.
5. Power Selection and Slotting
-------------------------------
Now before you go psycho on the planning based on above, a word of caution.
Although you can safely ignore most power pools, since you have innate Stamina
and inherent travel powers with vertical access (still need hasten though),
choosing every power is not smart. Slotting is a nightmare for these ATs.
You not only have 26 powers between these two sets, most of which NEED six
slots to be their best, but you also have EIGHT extra powers in your Shift
modes that get slotted SEPERATELY. Since you can't use ANY powers from your
human mode in shift form, you NEED to slot these if you plan on using them at
all effectively. You can kind of ignore the Dwarf ones because he serves his
purpose as a Tanker. He doesn't need to do damage really. Just be annoying,
and he already has Provoke for that. On top of those eight powers, you also
have your two inherent travel powers (Fly + Hover or Teleport + Recall) that
may or may not require slotting. This gives you 36 powers that require a TON
of slots. You don't have enough to please them all. This is where the act of
specialization comes in.
6. Specialization
-----------------
Every AT should be like these ones. Imagine grouping all the fire elements
from your current ATs. Fire Blaster, Fire Controller, Fire Tanker, just the
primaries. What you get is very close to what these two ATs are. But you
can't possibly be a Blaster/Controller/Tanker and be effective. You already
have a hard time slotting just ONE of those. So what do you do? You have to
specialize.
Now is the time to decide what you want to be. You have the power to be a
jack-of-all-trades, picking a handful of powers from each AT category, be it
Offense, Defense, or Control. You can choose to go all out on one, ignoring
the others and using your Interspatial Link to fill in that gap. You can
specialize completely on one type to be the ultimate juggernaut or the
greatest nuker there ever was. You can choose to never even TAKE the two
shapeshift forms, thus eliminating ten powers you would have slotted. Human
form is very very powerful, it's just diverse. Novas are geared towards
offense and Dwarfs toward defense. Human form is both, so it's less
specialized, but still very balanced and effective. Or you can choose to
ignore being Human and ALWAYS be either in Nova or Dwarf form, tanking or
blasting. Be warned, however, since any holds or stuns that knock out toggles
WILL knock out your transformation and leave you human again. Be ready to
retransform or put up a shield (level 2 defense power for both ATs).
You can also build around the benefits of your specific AT. With Build Up,
Conserve Energy, and a host of attacks, PBs are awesome blasters. With
Unstoppable, self Heals, and invincible flight mode, they also make great
tankers. With the sheer number of holds and stuns, WSs make great controllers
or even act as dark defenders. They have a lot of drains too, like the many
ones found to some tankers and certain dark scrappers.
7. The Verdict
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In conclusion, the two archetypes are extremely well balanced. Which you play
depends on your style, preferences, and your overall build plan. You can
easily customize each one to be a terrific blaster, tanker, or controller, or
all three, just HOW you do it differs. With the incredible number of
customization options, there is no "right" build. As a result, we are sure to
see extremely unique setups by level 50. No two Kheldians will be exactly the
same. Even if you have all the same powers, your slots are not infinite.
What do YOU value most to slot?
8. Quick Power List
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PEACEBRINGERS
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Offensive - Reduces defense; Energy damage
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Gleaming Bolt - Fast Bolt, Dam: Min, Rec: Very Fast
Glinting Eye - Eye Beam, Dam: Mod, Rec: Fast
Gleaming Blast - Slow Bolt, Knockback, Dam: High, Rec: Mod
Bright Nova - Same as Dark Nova, transforms to Blaster form
- Gleaming Bolt, Gleaming Blast, Proton Scatter, Luminous Detonation, Fly
Radiant Strike - Slow Melee Knockdown, Dam: Heavy, Rec: Mod
Proton Scatter - Cone burst, Dam: Mod, Rec: Slow
Build Up - Same as Build Up, increases damage greatly, Rec: Slow
Luminous Detonation - Explosive blast with knockback, Dam: Mod, Rec: Slow
Incandescent Strike - Strong Stunning Melee knockdown, Dam: Extreme, Rec: Long
Pulsar - PBAoE Pulse that stuns nearby enemies, Rec: Very Long
Glowing Touch - Heals target ally, Rec: Fast
Solar Flare - PBAoE Concussion blast with knockback, Dam: High, Rec: Slow
Photon Seekers - Summons 3 Homing Bombs to chase enemies, Rec: Long
Dawn Strike - PBAoE Nova blast, sends enemies flying, drains, Rec: Very Long
Defensive - Innate Fly and Hover
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Incandescence - Auto; Resist Energy + Negative Damage
Shining Shield - High Resist Smash + Lethal Damage, Rec: Fast
Essence Boost - Increase Max HPs temporarily, Rec: Very Long
Thermal Shield - Resist Cold + Fire Damage, Rec: Fast
Quantum Shield - High Resist Energy + Negative Damage, Rec: Fast
Group Energy Flight - Same as Group Fly
White Dwarf - Same as Black Dwarf, transforms to Tanker form
- Has a smash, a stomp, provoke, a self heal, and teleport
Reform Essence - Heals self, Rec: Very Long
Conserve Energy - Like Conserve Power, cuts end costs in half, Rec: Very Long
Quantum Flight - Super Speedy Flying while Phase Shifted with a high cost
Restore Essence - Self resurrect, Rec: Very Long
Light Form - Variant of Unstoppable, resists all but psychic, Rec: Very Long
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WARSHADES
=========
Offensive - Reduces attack rate and movement speed (slows); Negative damage
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Shadow Bolt - Fast bolt, Dam: Min, Rec: Very Fast
Ebon Eye - Eye beam, Dam: Mod, Rec: Fast
Gravimetric Snare - Immobilizing Crush Target, Dam: Mod, Rec: Slow
Dark Nova - Same as Bright Nova, transforms to Blaster form
- Shadow Bolt, Shadow Blast, Gravitic Emanation, Dark Matter Detonation, Fly
Shadow Blast - Slow Bolt, Knockback, Dam: Mod, Rec: Mod
Starless Step - Same as Teleport Foe
Sunless Mire - PBAoE Drains Enemy HPs, +Dam/+Acc you, Dam: Mod, Rec: Very Long
Dark Matter Detonation - Explosive blast with knockback, Dam: Mod, Rec: Slow
Gravity Well - Holding Megacrush, Dam: Superior(DoT), Rec: Slow
Essence Drain - PBAoE Drains Enemy HPs, +HPs to you, Dam: Mod, Rec: Slow
Gravitic Emanation - Cone Stunning burst, Dam: Min, Rec: Slow
Unchain Essence - Fallen Enemy Corpse Explosion, Dam: Extreme, Rec: Very Long
Dark Extraction - Raises a fallen enemy under your control, Rec: Very Long
Quasar - PBAoE Nova blast, sends enemies flying, drains, Rec: Very Long
Defensive - Innate Teleport and Recall
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Absorbtion - Auto; Resist Energy + Negative Damage
Gravity Shield - High Resist Smash + Lethal Damage, Rec: Fast
Orbiting Death - PBAoE toggle drains enemies, Dam: Minor(DoT), Rec: Very Long
Penumbral Shield - Resist Cold + Fire Damage, Rec: Fast
Shadow Cloak - Same as Stealth, no move penalty, Rec: Slow
Twilight Shield - High Resist Energy + Negative Damage, Rec: Fast
Black Dwarf - Same as White Dwarf, transforms to Tanker form
- Has a smash, a stomp, provoke, a self heal, and teleport
Stygian Circle - Drains nearby fallen enemies to heal self, Rec: Slow
Nebulous Form - Same as Phase Shift
Inky Aspect - Sacrifice HPs to keep nearby enemies stunned, Rec: Mod
Stygian Return - Drains nearby enemies to revive you, Dam: Mod, Rec: Very Long
Eclipse - PBAoE Drains Enemy End, +End you, -EndRecovery them, Rec: Very Long
9. F.A.Q.s and Answers
----------------------
Q: Can I have a Peacebringer or Warshade before I get a level 50?
A: No. You need one level 50 at least.
Q: Can I only create one Kheldian per level 50 or on only one server?
A: No, you can create as many as you want on any number of servers.
Q: I see a floating squid thing in a screenshot/picture/game. What is it?
A: Nova form for the Kheldians. Peacebringers have Bright Nova and Warshades
have Dark Nova.
Q: What's the hulking colossus I see running around?
A: That would be the Dwarf form for the Kheldians. Peacebringers have White
Dwarf and warshades have Black Dwarf.
Q: When I'm shifted in these forms, I can't use any attacks. Help?
A: When you become a Nova or a Dwarf, you must use the four attacks each form
has. The rest of your attacks grey out. I recommend creating a THIRD bar
and placing all eight attacks from both forms as well as the transformation
powers to fill up the bar to 10. Then, whenever you want to use another form,
you can just switch to the third bar (via bind, key, or click) and shapeshift.
Here's a good one:
Replace [key] with the name of the button you are binding to it and it will
switch to tray 3 where you have all your nice nova powers waiting. Use the
goto_tray command with other binds to switch back and forth however you like.
Q: I noticed there are now 14 powers instead of the normal 9. Does this mean
I can't take the last power till like 47 or something?
A: No. There are levels where you gain access to multiple powers from your
sets, so some of the powers are not actually before or after others, they are
gained at the same time. This means you will still be able to get your best
powers at level 32.
Q: The Kheldians don't seem to have any status protection. Is this true?
A: I believe, though I haven't tested it much, that the Dwarf has some natural
resistance to status effects. The human form has none. Having a controller
in your group increases your resistance by 10%. This does NOT ignore the
effect, just helps you recover faster. The only power that grants status
protection would be the Light Form for Peacebringers, the LAST in their set.
Q: I'm getting killed by Quantum guys! Even with shields up! Help!
A: There are lots of guys in the game now that deal special damage that only
you are weak against. You will die easily against them. Let your teammates
kill them for you or use Human form attacks. In Nova mode, you have even less
defense so I would not recommend using it against them.
Q: Why do Kheldians suck so much? They do pathetic damage and have worse then
normal resistances. HELP!
A: This is true of a solo Kheldian. The Kheldians were never meant to be used
outside of grouping. The more in your group, the better they get. You need
at least a five person team or larger to start being better than any existing
ATs, so three concerns to address: Kheldians CANNOT solo well, they CANNOT do
well outside of large teams, and they CANNOT gain experience very fast as a
result of always being in large teams. If you have an issue with any of these
three, don't be a Kheldian.
10. The Inter-Spatial Link
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How does the link work, exactly? Gathering info on that, as it seems to be
bugged or not working as the devs claim it should work. If it works out to
how they plan it, you'll be as weak as a defender solo but mightier than a
blaster or scrapper in a large team.
11. Building Tips
----------------
While it's true that you can play however you want with these ATs, two builds
for each seem to work best. These are the Shifted and Human Builds, and they
differ from Peacebringer to Warshade. Peacebringers have decent attacks and
defenses that require no enemies at all to use. The powers they have augment
these natural abilities and their link adds to their defense most often. This
is important, given the Kheldian weakness. Warshades have less powerful
attacks, but also have several drains. These drains in some ways make up for
the lack of attacks by allowing you to heal or buff your Warshade while still
damaging foes. The link from the Warshades also adds to your offense most
often, making these drains even more useful. Warshades are best when they are
surrounded by many enemies. They also have more AOE attacks than the single
targeting Peacebringers. However, their lack of defense plus their innate
Kheldian weakness makes them tricky to use. Both archetypes can be made into
effective human builds, with the Peacebringers having a balance of offense and
defense without exceling in either (between the nova and dwarf form, but
mixed) while the warshades have a very aggressive nature with multiple enemy
harming attacks, though their lowered defenses makes them very fragile.
The alternative to these balanced human form builds are the shifted form
builds that focus on slotting and switching between the Nova and Dwarf forms.
Sadly, due to lack of slots, you must choose whether you want to augment your
human form powers or your shifted powers. You cannot have both at their best
and any mix will result in weakened forms. While it is possible to focus
all of your slots solely on your two shift forms, it may also interest you to
slot only the Nova form completely while realizing you will not be doing much
damage while in your Dwarf form. If you plan on teaming often, this is not a
problem. However, if you plan on soloing, you will NEED the extra damage in
your Dwarf form for especially tough villains and bosses. The Nova form is
too weak to take them on, regarding defense. You will need your Dwarf form to
handle them, and for that it needs damage.
(Builds coming, just need to compile a bit more data on recent changes)
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Copyright 2004 Giovanni Pais
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