Flight Pool
Last Modified: July 30, 2010
Air Superiority
A strong attack for Squishies, but most importantly, it drops an enemy on their butt which keeps them from beating on you. Because of its fast recharge, it can be a very strong control power for ANY AT!
I used to give this a really low rating, but after having seen squishies solo really tough bosses by keeping the enemy on the ground, I gave it a try. Keep in mind Blasters are strong, but easily killed. But not if the enemy can't fight back… (hint, hint!).
Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority
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If you use this as a primary attack, slot this way higher. But as a control power, a few slots for accuracy are probably enough.
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Hover and Fly
Hover and Fly are basically the same as far as the power goes so I'll talk about both of them at the same time.
The two powers from this pool that you're likely to take are Hover and Fly, and they have most of the same advantages:
- Fun – There are some views and screen captures you can't ever get without fly.
- You can get to places that no one else except Teleporters can (and flying is much easier than accurate teleporting). Tops of statues, tops of buildings, anywhere you please.
I flew up to the highest building in Crey's Folly to take my final screen capture before deactivating my account the first time. There, Jordan waits till the time that I can return… *Sniff*… If you read the tells in the chat window, you can even see my good friend Justice Avatar promising not to forget me :*(.
- Unattended travel – Don't underestimate the power of turning on "run" and walking away while your character flies/hovers to a mission, zone entrance, or whatever. If you have to get up every now and then for a drink, potty break, or to do little things around the house now and then, this is for you.
- Safe – When traveling through dangerous zones, landing in the wrong place with Super Jump will get you killed. Super Speed has a stealth element, but if you get stuck on a land object (like a dumpster or wall) next to a group of enemies for a few seconds, they could notice you and beat you senseless. With Teleport, you run the risk of running out of endurance or teleporting to a bad spot where some enemies were hiding. With fly, you can go high above all buildings and terrain and just fly.
- Useful to solve the vertical problem of Super Speed – I run most of the way and just before I get to an obstacle, hit the fly power to get over it. Then I turn off the fly power to use the speed of Super Speed again. This combination gets you from place to place VERY fast.
- Semi invisibility with a stealth power – While Super Speed is the best with stealth powers, in open areas or warehouse or ship missions, flying with Stealth is just as good. I've been able to get to the end of many missions with just hover and Stealth without drawing any fire. The place where this breaks down is in caves where there's usually not enough space to hover over enemies.
- Badge hunting – Finding a certain type of enemy, reaching exploration points, and locating plaques are all easy with Fly. You can also spot Giant Monsters like Babbage, Hydra, Paladin, etc much easier.
Hover
Hover is slow, but can get you anywhere Fly can with far less endurance. It also adds a bonus to your defense though so you can use it as a defense boost during battle. It's a bit slow for movement though so buffing the speed is probably a good idea.
Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority
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More is good, but this is enough for basic buffs.
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I often find that slotting one Fly and one Defense is sufficient for mobility and decent defense. The key is to remember to turn it on for battles to take advantage of the defense.
Fly
Fly uses more endurance which is a problem early on as you'll use more endurance than you gain and run the risk of falling out of the air. However, I really like Fly so I took it as my support power for Super Speed (which I kept for Sneaking purposes).
Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority
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More is good, but this is enough for basic buffs.
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With an Endurance Reducer, I can often fight battles with Fly on, but if it's dropping too fast, I switch to Hover until the battle is over or the end has recovered a little.
Group Fly
I don't know that I've ever seen this used. At best, it can be a good way to bring your pets with you, but in group play, it has just about no use. If you're trying to help someone get to a mission or certain location, you're much better off with Recall Friend from the Teleport pool.
Recommended # of Slots and Enhancement Priority
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More is good, but this is enough for basic buffs.
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Sadly, due to the way they have the bonuses set leadership is pretty much useless for all but masterminds and defenders. It’s not even that good for masterminds, but because you’re going to be affecting six or seven people minimum, even when soloing, I guess it’s okay. The effect of the powers changes based on the class. For a full break down you can go here:
http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Leadership
But basically for Blaster, Scrapper, Tank, Brute, and Stalker
Blaster, 2.275% Def 10.50% Dmg 7.0% to hit
Even 3 slotted with 40% defense buffs, which is very high, you’re looking at 6.2% defense buff on Manuevers. That is totally worthless. Since you can’t enhance to-damage, you’re stuck with 10.5% on Assualt. Tactics can be buffed to 19.2%, if you don’t mind taking one of the other powers for basically no reason. But then you’re looking at atleast 5 slots for a power-pool power (as you’ll wreck your endurance).
For Kheldians, Dominators, Masterminds, Controllers and Corrupters, it is marginally better at 2.625%, which lets you get up to 7.2% – still worthless in my opinion. Defenders start with a 3.5, which lets you get to 9.6% – marginal at best. You really have to get two or three people to stack this before it really gets usefull. I took tactics on my Radiation/Kinetics defender, and I can notice a difference with only one a 20% in there, but it’s not worth the endurance drain. Currently I only use it if I team or am taking on a red-con, as I’ll need an edge to survive. I plan to 4 or 5 slot it by 24 just to see if it’s worth keeping, and if not I’ll spec out of it. I had it on my blaster and could never notice a difference, other than having even less endurance to use.
Not even counting the PvP potential, these powers can be very useful when teaming. While it doesn’t seem like a lot, remember that it’s defense for every hit, for every member of your team. The difference that can make is significant. For example, as a mastermind, your pets are 1 to 2 levels below you. If you’re fighting anything above yellow, they miss a lot and die a lot if you don’t buff their accuracy and defense.
You’re main point, which is valid, is that it costs too much endurance, but when you handle this another way, they can be well worth it. For example, a defender on a team or a mastermind (teaming or not) doesn’t use a lot of attacks during battle and concentrates on buffing/debuffing (or controlling pets as the case may be).
No matter what type you are (other than mastermind who’s always on a “team”), if you solo a lot, leadership may be a waste for you.