*** Psylocke (Classic) ***

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Comments

  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Dormammu wrote:
    Doragon wrote:
    Even though I built her 5/3/5, I'm leaning more towards 3/5/5 now for two simple reasons...

    1) There'll always be someone who can use Red better than Psylocke, especially with the addition of Lazy Cap/Thor.
    2) Her Red is kinda lackluster for the amount of AP required to use it - I think a flat rate of 5 AP might make it more reasonable. As it is in Heroic Venom, A.Slash at 2.8K damage is infinitely more appealing than the pittance that it does. At least with 5 AP cost, I can think "Oh hey for slightly less damage, I get to throw out 3 really good strike tiles!"

    Kinda regret selling those 4 Blue covers. :/

    The problem with her blue is that you'll struggle at times to get more out of it. I mean, at 3 it is already stealing 15AP - how often will you see more than that? My guess is rarely. More points in blue simply increases the amount of the AP steal. Better to have those points in Red, I feel, which is actually quite comparable to many of her 3* peers in damage-to-cost ratio.

    Level 5 blue reduces the countdown to 2 turns instead of 3, so it gives blue a much better chance to go off than level 4: I would argue that it's essential to make the skill reliably usable. The issue is whether or not the skill is good enough in the first place to use, and worth sacrificing some damage on her 2 main skills to do so.
  • People also aren't factoring into the equation that punishers AoE black is taking advantage of strike tiles 3 times instead of once. It typically does 900-1k per enemy.
  • NorthernPolarity
    NorthernPolarity Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    People also aren't factoring into the equation that punishers AoE black is taking advantage of strike tiles 3 times instead of once. It typically does 900-1k per enemy.

    Er... mischiefmakers analysis covers that case exactly, and it still shows that Psylocke's black does more same damage:
    You did say that Molotov combines effortlessly with Judgment, so let's take a look at how that compares. Let's start with the simple case: you wait until you can cast both. Punisher's black is 557+312= 869 to all targets, plus 425 every turn once the tile triggers. If we're going to allow Punisher to combo with his own green, it only seems fair to let Psylocke combo with her red, so we're looking at 965 + 192 = 1157 to a single target, plus 425 (funny how that works out!) for three extra turns as above, and then equal.

    So that's 869 to all targets and 425 every turn, versus 2432 to one target plus 425 every turn. I still can't see how you'd take Punisher's black over Psylocke's black in this situation.

    Now, if your countdown survives long enough to produce a second tile, then maybe you have a case, but we're talking about speed, and waiting to get 7 black plus 4-6 turns isn't exactly the fastest thing in the world (in that time you might as well be Calling the Storm or something similarly strong).

    Also, consider that Psylocke has more early flexibility -- she can cast black as soon as it's ready and still get almost full benefit from her red later, whereas Punisher doesn't want to go black-> green because the green might destroy the attack tile or the countdown tile. That also contributes to the notion that she's faster.
  • Level 5 blue reduces the countdown to 2 turns instead of 3, so it gives blue a much better chance to go off than level 4: I would argue that it's essential to make the skill reliably usable. The issue is whether or not the skill is good enough in the first place to use, and worth sacrificing some damage on her 2 main skills to do so.

    Heck, the only time I use her Blue is during PVE missions with goons which always steal about 12-15AP anyway (unless I'm against Snipers), but that reduction in countdown timer makes a big difference...

    Just have to consider whether PVP is more worth it than PVE.
  • Phaserhawk
    Phaserhawk Posts: 2,676 Chairperson of the Boards
    Her blue is one of those you hope you fall into enough blue to cast it early, aside from that it's only good for teams that store AP. If you take out the quick users of AP in PvP matches, the C.Mags, Spideys etc. And leave the big guys, then you can keep them shut down, like L.Thor, L. Cap, IM40. She is great since she's fast and strong to take out the smaller guys, but she will lose against tanks unless she can shut down something, and there is where the Blue skill comes into play, it's nice steal all that yellow and green from L.Thor. anyway that's how I use the blue. When I know I'll have the fast users of AP down soon, I'll cast it, knowing it will steal the AP against the big tank
  • I think Punisher has better upfront damage. Psylocke's blue is mostly good if you rainbow, and her skillset in general is suited towards the long game.

    Imo they're both great solo characters. I rate Punisher higher mostly because I think he has better synergy.
  • Dormammu
    Dormammu Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    Level 5 blue reduces the countdown to 2 turns instead of 3, so it gives blue a much better chance to go off than level 4: I would argue that it's essential to make the skill reliably usable. The issue is whether or not the skill is good enough in the first place to use, and worth sacrificing some damage on her 2 main skills to do so.

    I didn't realize the countdown shortened at lvl 5. That certainly helps its usability, but I still question (as you pose yourself) if its valuable enough to raise past 3. I like Psylocke quite a bit, but being forced to use the Human Torch a lot recently I am wondering if he doesn't do what she does a bit better.
  • Blue is a gamble imo. To make best use of it, you have to go for it early--which means you're not matching red/black. If you steal red/black, great. If not, you need to have a good rainbow team or end up wasting a bunch of time.
  • Phaserhawk
    Phaserhawk Posts: 2,676 Chairperson of the Boards
    The biggest issue with her Blue is it steals from the largest color pool. in PvE that's easy to figure out, in PvP you are going to get stuck with off colors. Say you go against L.Thor, Patch, L.Cap, you are probably going to end up stealing purple, or black. In fact that is usully what you end up stealing in PvP. So if you choose to run Psylocke you best have a good outlet for the purple and black. Obviously Psylocke can use the black herself, the Purple is probably best for C.Mags as of now. But...you will proabbly never cast Pyslocke's blue while you have C.Mags alive, thus her teammate issues.
  • Punisher's speed game is green not black. If you want to win fast, you're using his green as soon as possible, before black or red
  • Phaserhawk wrote:
    The biggest issue with her Blue is it steals from the largest color pool. in PvE that's easy to figure out, in PvP you are going to get stuck with off colors. Say you go against L.Thor, Patch, L.Cap, you are probably going to end up stealing purple, or black. In fact that is usully what you end up stealing in PvP. So if you choose to run Psylocke you best have a good outlet for the purple and black. Obviously Psylocke can use the black herself, the Purple is probably best for C.Mags as of now. But...you will proabbly never cast Pyslocke's blue while you have C.Mags alive, thus her teammate issues.

    IceIX just teased Falcon with blue and yellow passives, with an active purple. That would make him a potentially excellent fit as a member of a rainbow team with Psylocke.
  • Phaserhawk
    Phaserhawk Posts: 2,676 Chairperson of the Boards
    Lyrian wrote:
    Phaserhawk wrote:
    The biggest issue with her Blue is it steals from the largest color pool. in PvE that's easy to figure out, in PvP you are going to get stuck with off colors. Say you go against L.Thor, Patch, L.Cap, you are probably going to end up stealing purple, or black. In fact that is usully what you end up stealing in PvP. So if you choose to run Psylocke you best have a good outlet for the purple and black. Obviously Psylocke can use the black herself, the Purple is probably best for C.Mags as of now. But...you will proabbly never cast Pyslocke's blue while you have C.Mags alive, thus her teammate issues.

    IceIX just teased Falcon with blue and yellow passives, with an active purple. That would make him a potentially excellent fit as a member of a rainbow team with Psylocke.

    Yeah, that color comp is going to be good for a lot of teams. Even if the passive's are just okay, the fact that he can help round out a lineup is huge!!!!
  • Phaserhawk
    Phaserhawk Posts: 2,676 Chairperson of the Boards
    Lover her or hate her, the AI plays Psylocke well.
  • Bacon Pants
    Bacon Pants Posts: 1,012
    I enjoy playing with Psylocke and that was furthered by Heroic Venom...it's just a shame that her blue sucks rusty nails. I guess I could pair her with GSBW for the purple that she seems to steal every time. I guess it would be too much if she stole 5ap from the top three color pools.( or something similar) That, to me would be more ideal but possibly overpowered.
  • Phaserhawk wrote:
    The biggest issue with her Blue is it steals from the largest color pool. in PvE that's easy to figure out, in PvP you are going to get stuck with off colors. Say you go against L.Thor, Patch, L.Cap, you are probably going to end up stealing purple, or black. In fact that is usully what you end up stealing in PvP. So if you choose to run Psylocke you best have a good outlet for the purple and black. Obviously Psylocke can use the black herself, the Purple is probably best for C.Mags as of now. But...you will proabbly never cast Pyslocke's blue while you have C.Mags alive, thus her teammate issues.

    The black steal is fantastic though, because often times youll nab at least 12 black AP, letting you use Psi-Katana twice. As for stealing purple, pair her with OBW and Wolverine. You get rainbow match damage, both her attack tiles and OBW's espionage will play well with Wolverines strike tiles, and if you steal purple then you can just rob the opponent blind with agressive recon. Get enough purple and theyll never get to use a single skill while you decimate them with Psi-Katanas and Feral Rage/Adamantium Slash
  • the biggest problem i have with psylocke is that the placement of her strike and attack tiles are somewhat random, you cannot control where they're placed. It always annoys me when i place a strike/attack tile to have the AI make a match the next turn. icon_mad.gif
  • Renaldoo
    Renaldoo Posts: 114
    Psylock is my only level 141, and she has served me well! I have only gotten exactly 13 covers for her though, and they are 5/4/4. So, I am trying to decide if I should go for the full black or full blue. Not a lot of people seem to run her though, so I haven't fought her much, but she seems to do pretty decent for me on the defense. When she kills you, is it usually just a combination of red/black, or is it a lucky blue?

    Thanks for your help!
  • Its the blue. When Bewilder goes off the player gets so dazzled by her **** that they make mistakes. Some of them immediately retreat and head for a cold shower
  • TropicYeo wrote:
    the biggest problem i have with psylocke is that the placement of her strike and attack tiles are somewhat random, you cannot control where they're placed. It always annoys me when i place a strike/attack tile to have the AI make a match the next turn. icon_mad.gif

    It sounds like you don't like her red because it can only place one strike tile at a time? Every character that uses them (except 4* Wolvie) places strike tiles randomly.
  • Well dont really ever lose to a psylock.

    But if you are insist on using her a 5/3/5 is probably the best build for her.